Club DJ under fire after fatal car accident in Gangnam

A club DJ in her 20s who ran over a delivery rider in his 50s on Saturday heads to Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Monday. [NEWS1]

A young DJ faces public opprobrium for allegedly failing to take appropriate actions after she fatally struck a delivery rider with her Mercedes-Benz last weekend.

The club DJ in her 20s, Ahn, fatally rear-ended the 54-year-old delivery rider on his motorcycle in Gangnam, southern Seoul, at 4:40 a.m. Saturday.

She drove an additional 100 meters before coming to a complete stop after the collision. The driver, despite being rushed to the hospital, was pronounced dead.

The police determined Ahn was intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration of over 0.08 percent, enough to revoke her license.

The delivery driver was reportedly a single father.

However, according to witness accounts reported in local media, Ahn took no action after the accident, including calling emergency respondents. She simply pulled her dog out of the car and held it.

Posting in an online community, a witness claimed the DJ was unresponsive with no facial expression, whether it be fear or sadness.

The post also claimed she refused to cooperate with the police when they tried to separate her from her dog, talking in gibberish and asking to talk with her mother on the phone.

On Monday, a court approved a custody warrant as she was seen to be a flight risk.

She has been accused of manslaughter by reckless driving, an offense that could land her three years to life in prison.

The police said the driver tested negative in the initial drug test.

However, for more accurate results, the police asked the National Forensic Service for a more detailed analysis.

Ahn reportedly denied using illegal drugs.

The police said they are also considering charging the driver with additional offenses, including obstruction of official duties.

“We will thoroughly investigate the suspicions raised,” the police added.

However, the penalty for her not taking affirmative action after the accident is a maximum of five years or a fine of 15 million won ($11,310).

According to the legal community, even if the woman gets convicted of not taking any action after the accident, her sentence will not be lengthened, unlike the U.S., which adds years to a prison sentence for every felony committed.

“Ahn may not see a drastic lengthening on her sentence,” lawyer Kim Ki-yun told the JoongAng Ilbo.

However, the lawyer said the court would likely hand Ahn a prison sentence as she did not engage after the accident and only petted her dog.

In a similar case in which a driver ignored a wounded person in a traffic accident and left the scene was sentenced to two years in prison.

The driver, Jang, crashed into a motorcyclist in August last year when turning left in Dobong District, northern Seoul, at 3:30 a.m.

According to the police, the driver remained on the site for two minutes before pulling to the side of the road.

The driver then got out and looked down on the motorcyclist, who was knocked out, for 15 seconds and fled.

The court sentenced the driver to two years for not taking follow-up actions after the accident. However, Jang appealed last month.

The court’s ruling was one year shorter than the one proposed by the prosecutors’ office.

The victim was in the hospital for eight weeks.

BY HAN JEE-HYE, KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]