SEOUL – A 66-year-old taxi driver whose passenger jumped out of his moving taxi and was then killed after being hit by another car has been cleared of traffic accident charges, according to media reports on Nov 28.

The Daegu District Court also cleared the 43-year-old driver of the sports utility vehicle that hit the woman and killed her, saying it was impossible for the driver to evade the victim.

The incident occurred in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 4, 2022, when the 20-year-old victim got into the taxi.

The driver misheard the victim’s request to be driven to a university and took the highway en route to a different school.

This caused the victim to panic, thinking she was being kidnapped.

A black box recording from the taxi revealed that the driver had asked the passenger if the destination was correct, and the victim then confirmed that it was.

The masks both were wearing because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the noise of the highway made communication difficult.

Prosecutors pressed charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents, specifically death by occupational negligence, on both the taxi driver and the SUV driver.

The court said it would have been impossible for the taxi driver to foresee that his passenger would jump out of the car, or for the SUV driver to not hit the victim, who suddenly appeared in front of the vehicle.

The incident made headlines in 2022, particularly after the victim’s younger brother submitted an online petition to the presidential office saying the driver ignored the victim’s repeated request to stop while driving at top speed to a strange location.

Results of the police investigation refuted the claims. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK