On the evening of July 1, a major traffic accident occurred near Exit 7 of City Hall Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, where a car drove in the wrong direction and crashed onto a pedestrian crossing, killing nine people and injuring four others.
Due to the location of the incident in the center of Seoul, coupled with the fact that the accident occurred during off-hours, there was a large flow of people, resulting in mass casualties.
After the accident, the South Korean police quickly arrested the driver A, who was not drinking alcohol at the time, so the suspicion of drunk driving was ruled out, but it has not yet been confirmed whether there is a suspicion of drug abuse or fatigue driving.
According to the statements of the police and eyewitnesses, at around 9:27 p.m. that night, a Lawrence car suddenly went against the road in the one-way lane of Sejong-dori Road, the vehicle drove fast, and rear-ended BMW, Sonata and other cars on the road in turn, and then rushed onto the crosswalk, hit a pedestrian who was waiting for a traffic light, and after hitting the pedestrian, the vehicle drove for more than 100 meters, and did not stop until it stopped in front of Exit 12 of City Hall Station, and the distance of driving in the wrong direction reached 200 meters.
One witness said: "At that time, the traffic light was red, but a car suddenly came from the opposite direction, and I thought it was strange at the time. ”
After the accident, the Seoul Metropolitan Government deployed 37 vehicles, 134 manpower to deal with the accident scene, and set up a temporary first aid station near the accident site, and a total of 9 people died in the accident that day (6 died on the spot, 3 were determined dead after being taken to the hospital), and 4 people were injured.
Jung Yong-woo, head of the traffic section of the Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul, said, "The driver was also injured, so there has been no formal investigation, and although there is an investigation into whether he drank alcohol, as far as I know, Mr. A did not drink alcohol, and the accident and cause will be quickly investigated with the driver's statement and surveillance video." ”
After receiving the report of the accident, the president of South Korea has instructed Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min to "make every effort to rescue and treat the victims." ”
Minister of Public Administration and Safety Lee Sang-min said, "We will mobilize available resources to quickly respond to emergencies and send people to hospitals, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety will dispatch on-site situation officers to the scene of the accident to support the handling of the accident." ”