Cherry blossom outing takes fatal turn after alleged drunk driving crash
A mother of two died from her injuries after being struck by a vehicle operated by a driver with a blood alcohol level well over the legal limit.
A vehicle driven by an alleged drunk driver crosses the center line in Anseong, Gyeonggi, on April 11, as seen in JTBC's "Crime Chief" (2014–).
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A mother of two was killed after an alleged drunk driver struck her and her husband while they were enjoying cherry blossoms.
The accident occurred in Anseong, Gyeonggi, in April, according to a report by JTBC's "Crime Chief" (2014–) on Saturday.
The couple, both in their 40s, had been walking through a popular cherry blossom spot on April 11 when they were struck by a vehicle driven by an alleged drunk driver.
The husband said he briefly lost consciousness from the collision, but when he regained consciousness, he found his wife lying about 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) away.
He immediately called emergency services and performed CPR before his wife was taken to a hospital, but she later died from a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.
"My wife had just said, 'The cherry blossoms are beautiful,' when the car came toward us," the husband said, adding that he called out to her, but everything happened within two seconds.
Police said the driver had attended a school reunion before the crash, where he drank about seven shots of homemade fruit liquor before getting behind the wheel. The driver's blood alcohol concentration measured 0.137 percent, well above the 0.08 percent threshold for license revocation.
The driver reportedly told investigators that they remembered leaving the restaurant but could not recall driving or the crash itself.
Police also found that the driver had previously been fined twice for drunk driving.
Prosecutors sought a six-year prison sentence for the driver on charges of dangerous driving resulting in death under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Speaking to "Crime Chief," the husband said he never imagined he would lose his wife "in just two seconds."
"I wish I had done more for her," he said. "I only feel sorry that I couldn't protect the mother of our two children."
The husband called for a harsh punishment, emphasizing no intention of accepting compensation or settlement money.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
