VIOLENT DRIVERS ON ROADS

[Anchor Lead]

Stories about violent drivers and retaliatory driving are seemingly more common these days. The latest incident comes from Changwon, but what makes it particularly noteworthy is that police failed to apprehend the perpetrator, leaving the victim to turn to social media for help.

[Pkg]

A motorcycle cuts in front of a passenger car waiting at a red light. Moments later, a man approaches the car and begins making threatening gestures. The 29-year-old female driver sustained injuries including a broken nose requiring four weeks of medical attention.

[Soundbite] (VICTIM) : "They swore at me and demanded that I open the window. When I opened the window, they started to hit me in the face repeatedly."

The incident occurred on July 26 at an intersection in downtown Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. The motorcycle driver assaulted the passenger car driver for honking after the motorcycle failed to recognize that the traffic light had changed. The two men on the motorbike spit at the victim's car and chased it to the next intersection where they continued to assault the driver for about eight minutes. They then covered the license plate of the motorcycle with a hat and fled. A police patrol car arrived at the scene after other drivers who witnessed the incident reported it, but the police failed to apprehend the perpetrator. The frustrated victim turned to social media to help locate the perpetrator by posting black box footage of the incident. The victim managed to identify the perpetrator and called the police six times the following day only to be told that the police station she called had no jurisdiction over the area in question. Police were finally dispatched only after the victim called the police complaint center, and the 36-year-old perpetrator was detained.

[Soundbite] (POLICE OFFICER(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "We promised to do our best, but apparently it was not enough. I can't give you any more details. I'm sorry."

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency has vowed to investigate the incident and take stern measures again the officers if problems are revealed in their initial response.