The 68-year-old man, surnamed Cha, caused the deadly incident by driving his vehicle in the wrong direction on a one-way, four-lane street. After colliding with two oncoming vehicles, he suddenly accelerated and plowed into pedestrians waiting for a traffic signal on the sidewalk.
In its ruling, the court said, "The driver's negligence led to the grave casualties." It added, "Given that the defendant denies his crime and shows no remorse, a heavy penalty is necessary, given the severity of the incident."
Cha has insisted that his vehicle suddenly accelerated out of control, but prosecutors argued that the crash was caused by his mishandling of the gas pedal.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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