▲ Accident vehicle


 Regarding the suspected sudden acceleration accident that occurred in Gangneung, Gangwon-do early last month, the driver and his family filed a civil lawsuit to hold the automobile manufacturer responsible. 



These families and lawyers said, "The accident at the time was a sudden acceleration accident caused by a defect in the car." 



The accident occurred on December 6 of last year, on a road in Naegok-dong, Gangneung, when an SUV vehicle suddenly spewed white liquid with a roaring sound and ran into the vehicle in front. 



The vehicle, which could not slow down even after that, ran for about 600m with a roar and stopped only after it crashed into an underground passage next to the road.



The driver, a 68-year-old woman, was seriously injured in the accident, and her 12-year-old grandson, who was riding next to her, died. 



The black box of the accident vehicle contains a situation in which the driver urgently shouts, "Oh, why can't this happen. Oh, it's a big deal." 



The driver, the grandmother, has been charged with violating the Traffic Accident Special Act.  



In response, the bereaved family appealed, "I lost my son, but I can't even make my mother a criminal." I did. 



Experts believe that it is highly likely to be sudden acceleration when comprehensively analyzing the roaring sound from the engine, abnormally emitted exhaust gas, and the distance traveled. 



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The driver's family and the lawyer's side also said, "This (accident) car, which is an autonomous driving level 2 vehicle, has a software defect in the main computer electronic control unit (ECU), a design defect in not adopting an acceleration suppression system (ASS), and an automatic emergency braking system (AEB). ) did not work, and there was a design flaw with a roof that lacked the ability to withstand a crash." 



In particular, it was emphasized that the driver's collision avoidance driving at least two times during sudden acceleration proves that he was driving while controlling the car, not the driver's negligence, such as misoperating the pedal.



It was also revealed that the roaring sound and the spewing of white liquid also caused suspicion of vehicle defects.



In addition, it added that since the 12-year-old grandson died in this accident, he was also asked to compensate for punitive damages, corresponding to a major civil disaster under the Severe Disaster Punishment Act. 



The driver's family said, "Most domestic sudden acceleration accidents tend to be driven by the driver's negligence." "To prevent another accident in the future, the manufacturer must bear the burden of proving the accident. We will also push for legislation so that the brake system works.” 



Meanwhile, the police are conducting an accident investigation with the National Institute of Scientific Investigation to identify the cause of the accident, such as reenactment experiments with the same vehicle model as the accident vehicle, and the results of the detailed identification conducted by the National Forensic Service are expected to be released around mid-month at the earliest. 



(Photo = Provided by Gangneung Fire Station, Yonhap News)