CONTENTS
- 1. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Are the Detailed Circumstances?
- - Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Are the Relevant Statutes and Judgment?
- 2. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Was the Court's Determination?
- 3. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Was Daeryun's Strategy?
1. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Are the Detailed Circumstances?
The defendant who was brought to criminal trial on the charge of failure to take measures after an accident was A, who works as a cargo-truck driver.
While driving the cargo truck, A struck the bicycle of the victim (8 years old), who was crossing a crosswalk at an intersection, with the front bumper of the truck. As a result, the victim fell sideways while still on the bicycle.
A immediately got out of the vehicle, checked the victim's condition, and asked whether the victim was all right. The victim answered, ‘I'm fine,’ and then rode the bicycle back home.
However, the day after the accident, the victim visited a hospital and was diagnosed with a knee and ankle sprain requiring about two weeks of treatment. A was subsequently subjected to a criminal complaint by the victim's parents.
A argued that, given the extent of the victim's injuries, the situation was one in which relief measures were not necessary, and that the crime of hit-and-run causing injury therefore could not be applied.
Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Are the Relevant Statutes and Judgment?
🔗Failure to take measures after an accident, or a hit-and-run, refers to the act of leaving the scene after causing a traffic accident without fulfilling necessary measures such as providing relief to the casualties and without providing one's personal information to the victim.
The relevant punishment provisions are set out in the Road Traffic Act.
▣ Road Traffic Act
Article 54 (Measures upon the Occurrence of an Accident)
(1) Where a person is killed or injured or property is damaged due to traffic such as the operation of a vehicle or tram, the driver of the vehicle or tram or any other crew member shall immediately stop and take the following measures:
1. Necessary measures such as providing relief to the casualties |
Article 148 (Penalty Provisions)
A person who fails to take the measures upon the occurrence of a traffic accident under Article 54 (1) shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine not exceeding 15 million won.
|
2. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Was the Court's Determination?
The district court that heard the trial concerning the failure to take measures after the accident imposed a fine on A.
According to the CCTV footage, the victim fell sideways while on the bicycle on the crosswalk, was unable to get up right away, and was confirmed to have rolled sideways and slowly risen to her feet. It was also captured that the passenger in A's vehicle helped to set the victim's bicycle upright.
Accordingly, the court determined, “Even if the victim's bicycle made a slight contact with A's vehicle, or the victim fell without contact out of surprise at A's approaching vehicle, the situation appears to be one in which relief measures were necessary for the victim.”
The court further added, “Even if the diagnosis the victim received at the hospital was a relatively minor injury requiring about two weeks of treatment, it cannot be concluded that relief measures were unnecessary.”
Above all, the court determined, “The time during which A checked the victim's condition immediately after the accident was very short, only seven to eight seconds, and the victim was an eight-year-old elementary school student who lacked the ability to respond to a traffic accident,” and that “it is difficult to find that the victim, in a state of confusion from the sudden traffic accident, had the ability to accurately assess her own condition.”
Therefore, the court held that, even though the victim said she was ‘fine,’ A should have taken active measures, such as taking the victim to a hospital for treatment or, at a minimum, providing his own contact information or contacting the victim's parents.
In the end, the court found A guilty of the charge of failure to take measures after an accident and imposed a fine of 1,000,000 won.
3. Failure to Take Measures After an Accident, What Was Daeryun's Strategy?
In connection with a failure to take measures after an accident, we have analyzed a district court judgment which held that, even where the driver checked the victim's condition after the accident and received an answer of ‘I'm fine’ from the victim, more active measures were required because the victim was a child.
A failure to take measures after an accident is commonly called a ‘hit-and-run,’ and it frequently occurs while the driver is intoxicated. In many cases, the driver also fails to recognize that harm has occurred after the accident, or judges that the degree of harm is not significant and therefore does not take appropriate measures.
As hit-and-run accidents have recently increased, the police have strengthened their investigative techniques and are focusing on raising the arrest rate for hit-and-run offenders. Accordingly, when a person causes a traffic accident, it is important to take immediate relief measures.
The Daeryun Law Firm LLP 🔗Drunk Driving and Traffic Accident Response Group provides active assistance, through attorneys experienced in hit-and-run cases, to defend clients who have been indicted on charges of failure to take measures after an accident.
If you need assistance with a related charge, you are welcome to request a legal consultation with Daeryun Law Firm LLP.
