COURT RULING ON SCHOOL ZONE ACCIDENT

[Anchor Lead]

A court has ruled that a driver whose car hit a child in a school zone causing serious injuries was not guilty. The ruling says the car was moving slowly at the time and the accident was unavoidable.

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In late 2020, a seven-year-old child got hit by a van in a school zone while playing tag with his friends. The child sustained injuries that required 10 weeks of medical treatment

[Soundbite] Local resident(VOICE MODIFIED) : "Right now there are cars parked on this side only. But sometimes they are also parked over there. (Then the road must get very narrow.) Exactly."

A police investigation has found that the accident was hard to avoid as the child ran out suddenly from behind a set of parked vehicles on the roadside. The driver was not speeding at the time and no traffic rule violations have been detected. A court has ruled that the driver, who had been sued for violating the law designed to protect children in school zones, was not guilty. An analysis of the car's black box and surveillance cameras has revealed that it took only half a second for the child to run out and get hit by the van, meaning the accident was unavoidable. The court also said it was difficult for the driver to foresee that the child, who was running on the sidewalk in the same direction with the van, would suddenly turn around and run out in front of the car.

[Soundbite] Chung Kyung-il(Lawyer) : "Drivers are worried that they will get punished no matter what when they cause accidents in school zones. This verdict shows that this isn't true."

Experts say the ruling is exceptional, as it takes into account unavoidable circumstances for the driver. But they stressed once more that drivers must abide by traffic rules and especially be on alert in school zones.