Taxi Driver: "Daesung Shouldn't Become Innocent Victim"

In an exclusive report today, local media Dispatch interviewed the taxi driver, identified only as Kim, involved in yesterday’s car accident by Daesung. He was the first person to spot the motorcyclist who got killed in the accident and the only witness of Daesung’s crash into his car.

Kim started off by saying, “A lot of things are being falsely reported. We shouldn’t make an innocent victim out of this incident.”

Countless rumors have been spreading about the very first accident that had caused the motorcyclist to hit the ground. Some were guessing the motorcyclist wasn’t hurt as bad before being hit by Daesung, and claimed the very first accident could not have caused the motorcyclist to die. But the taxi driver said, “Hyun (motorcyclist) was already bleeding a lot by then. I think the first accident was extremely damaging.”

Kim added, “There’s a good chance that Daesung couldn’t identify the victim.” The accident happened late at night when it was very dark and the victim was wearing khaki clothes, making it even harder to spot in the dark.

Here’s an excerpt of the interview:

Q: The motorcyclist died. There’s a lot of speculation that Daesung might have caused the death.

A: It looked like the motorcyclist was already in extreme pain from the initial accident. First of all, the motorcycle and the motorcyclist were 30 meters apart. The condition of the motorcyclist was easily noticeable. He was bleeding a lot and you could see a lot of blood around his body. The helmet wasn’t even found anywhere close possibly because of the heavy impact. When I saw the helmet later when the police brought it, it was severely damaged.

Q: Kim was able to spot the motorcyclist while driving in his car. But Daesung couldn’t identify him. And he ended up hitting Hyun and crashed into the taxi too.

A: There’s a reason Daesung couldn’t avoid Hyun. It’s because there was another vehicle in front of Daesung. Actually, I parked my car after seeing the victim on the ground. I was about to call the police. Right about then, another car abruptly changed lanes after seeing Hyun. And the car coming right behind that vehicle was Daesung’s. The car in the front avoided the victim but it looks like Daesung couldn’t see him. Usually, when the car in the front quickly shifts lanes, the car in the back misses what caused it to swerve.”

Q: Daesung said he didn’t see the motorcyclist.

A: Daesung had no idea about the motorcyclist. In fact, he learned about it after I told there was a person lying on the ground. Because the car right in front of him had swerved, he probably couldn’t see the victim at all.

Q: Daesung is being accused of speeding and negligent driving.

A: It looked like he was driving at 60km/hr. Because the car in front of him wasn’t speeding that much. It’s what I saw through my car’s room mirror. This is what I testified to the police. I heard Daesung told the police he was driving at 80km/hr, but I think that’s just what he felt when he crashed into the cab.

Q: No skid marks were found. Does that mean he hit the brake after hitting the cab?

A: I think he accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. If the brake was working properly, there should have been skid marks, but there weren’t any. After the collision, the taxi moved about 30m forward. If the cab was pushed away that far, that means the brake was not applied. I guess he was extremely nervous and shocked at the moment and couldn’t step on the brake.

Q: Were you able to tell Daesung was shocked?

A: Everything was just totally crazy. An accident had occurred, and a victim was there. And in less than 10 minutes, reporters came from everywhere. Him being a celebrity and young, I think he was even more shocked. Even when he was being questioned by the police, his hands were shaking a lot.

Q: A lot of speculations are swirling around. How do you feel as the only witness?

A: I feel bad. It was probably his poor driving that caused him to miss the motorcyclist and drive over him. But the very first accident has not been identified yet, and we have no idea who caused it. Daesung is being held responsible for everything for some reason, but there’s a chance that he’s being wrongfully accused for a lot of things. And that’s why I took the courage to take action and speak out.

Source: Dispatch