A woman in her 30s who, while heavily intoxicated, sped with her two young daughters in the car and struck a motorcyclist, killing the rider, was sentenced to 12 years in prison at the first trial.
The Daejeon District Court Hongseong Branch Criminal Division 3 single-judge panel (Chief Judge Im Huijae) on the 10th sentenced A (38), who was indicted on charges including hit-and-run resulting in death and failure to take measures after an accident under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, drunk driving, and child abuse under the Child Welfare Act, to 12 years in prison. The court also ordered A to complete 80 hours of a child abuse treatment program.
At about 9:20 p.m. on Jan. a road in Hongbuk-eup, Hongseong-gun, South Chungcheong, A was brought to trial on charges of driving a passenger car while drunk and rear-ending a motorcycle ahead, then leaving the scene without taking any measures. In the crash, B, a motorcyclist in their 20s, died.
At the time of the crash, A's car also carried two daughters, ages 6 and 4. Prosecutors said A's reckless driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.211%, far exceeding the license revocation threshold, endangered the children and constituted emotional abuse, and they also applied the child abuse charge.
A drove at 178 kph on a road with a 60 kph speed limit. The speed exceeded the limit by 118 kph.
Victim B was a groom-to-be and was found to have met with the accident on the way home after work.
The investigation found that immediately after the crash, A checked B's condition but neither reported it nor provided aid. Instead, A hurled insults at the victim and witnesses to the accident, saying things like "Isn't this because of you?" and "My kids were startled," shifting the blame.
During the trial, A argued that being heavily intoxicated meant the death of the victim was not known and there was no intent to flee. The court did not accept this.
The court said, "Considering A's overall behavior—such as conversing with witnesses and others at the scene right after the crash—it is recognized that A sufficiently perceived that a traffic accident had occurred," and explained, "When the police car and ambulance arrived, A silently walked away from the scene, and after a witness to the accident spotted A leaving and tipped off the police, a pursuit took place."
It continued, "A drove recklessly while heavily intoxicated, did not take measures despite being able to attend to the victim's condition, and even shifted responsibility to others, making the blameworthiness very high," and added, "In particular, despite the duty to protect the children, A's heavily intoxicated reckless driving caused considerable harm to their mental health and development, which is also a serious felony," stating the reasons for sentencing.