A driver who plowed a one-ton truck into a flea market in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, killing two people and injuring five, will learn on the 21st whether the driver will be placed in pretrial detention.
The Pyeongtaek branch of the Suwon District Court will hold a hearing at 11 a.m. on the 21st to review an arrest warrant for the driver, identified only as A and in their 60s, who is accused of causing death and injury by negligent driving under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, the Anseong Police Station said on the 20th.
The crash occurred at about 11:18 a.m. on the 19th at a flea market held at Gongdo Children's Park No. 10, in front of the Gongdo Library in Gongdo-eup, Anseong, when the driver drove the one-ton truck into the venue. A teenage boy and his mother, who was in her 40s, were killed, and five others were injured, including a woman in her 20s who suffered fractures in both legs. All seven — the mother and son who died and the five who were injured — were staff working at the flea market, police said.
Police arrested the driver on the day of the crash, conducted questioning and applied for an arrest warrant the same day. Immediately after the accident, A told police that the crash occurred while trying to park near the park to load and unload goods, and that the brake pedal had been mistaken for the accelerator. In later questioning, however, A changed the account and claimed the vehicle had suddenly accelerated on its own.
Police have asked the National Forensic Service to conduct a detailed examination of the truck as part of an investigation into whether the vehicle accelerated unintentionally. Investigators said they would press ahead with additional inquiries once the court decides whether to detain the driver.
