A ruling has been issued by the court regarding an accident in which a pedestrian was killed due to exceeding the speed limit while driving. The court determined that if the situation was unpredictable, it would be difficult to impose criminal responsibility.

This ruling is noteworthy as it strictly interprets the causal relationship between speeding and the occurrence of the accident.

According to the legal community, Judge Ko Young-sik of the Daejeon District Court's Criminal Division 9 acquitted a man in his thirties, referred to as A, who was charged with violating the Special Act on the Handling of Traffic Accidents (manslaughter).

A was prosecuted for hitting and killing an 80-year-old pedestrian, referred to as B, who was jaywalking on a six-lane road in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, at around 5:50 PM on November 1 of last year.

At the time, it was investigated that A was driving at approximately 80 km/h, which is 30 km over the speed limit of 50 km/h. However, the court determined that the causal relationship between the speeding and the fatal accident was not clearly proven.

The basis for the court's judgment and the scope of duty of care

The court highlighted that there were no crosswalk markings at the accident site, and the presence of a central separator made it difficult to anticipate the pedestrian's sudden jaywalking.

In particular, the court ruled that it would be unreasonable to expect drivers to foresee unusual situations like jaywalking and to look around carefully to drive safely.

Judge Ko stated in the ruling, "While it is acknowledged that speeding occurred, it is difficult to view the incident as a situation that could normally be foreseen since the victim suddenly jaywalked," and added, "It was generally dark after sunset, and the central divider made it difficult to anticipate the jaywalking."

Additionally, he remarked, "There is insufficient evidence to support that if the speed limit had been followed, A could have seen the victim in time to avoid the collision."

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