Probationary police officer booked after running over, killing woman in Incheon

A probationary police officer has been booked after fatally running over a woman while responding to an emergency call in Incheon.

The officer is currently under investigation on suspicion of causing a death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, according to the Michuhol Police Precinct in Incheon on Friday.

The officer is accused of driving a patrol car over a woman who was lying in the road at around 12:45 a.m. Friday on a side street in Sungui-dong, Michuhol District.

The officer had been dispatched to the scene with a senior officer from the same police substation after receiving a report that "a person is lying on the road." During questioning, the officer reportedly told investigators that they "had not seen the woman lying in the roadway."

The accident occurred in a residential neighborhood densely packed with multifamily homes.

Police are reviewing surveillance footage, including video showing the woman getting out of a taxi while appearing unsteady, to determine exactly how the incident unfolded.

"The senior officer riding in the patrol car is not considered subject to criminal punishment because there was no legal duty of care in this case," a police official said.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency plans to transfer the case to another police station after completing its initial investigation.

BY BYUN MIN-CHUL [[email protected]]