Truck crashes into Bucheon market, killing 2, injuring 18
This photo shows the aftermath of a truck crash at a store in Jeil Market in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Courtesy of Bucheon Fire Station
A truck crashed into a market in Bucheon on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 18 others, officials said.
The 1-ton pickup plowed through Jeil Market in the city just southwest of Seoul at around 11 a.m., according to police. The driver was detained at the scene.
Police said the driver, in his 60s, is presumed to have mishandled the pedals based on imagery from surveillance cameras, though they need to analyze the event data recorder and question him further.
"The driver claims it was sudden unintended acceleration, but it is hard to verify based on CCTV footage of the moving vehicle," Park Geum-cheon, an official from Bucheon Fire Station, told reporters.
Park said the driver was not under the influence and crashed into people on the market's pathways, not into the stores.
The truck first moved 28 meters in reverse before lurching 150 m forward, he added.
The two killed were both women in their 70s. The injured included three with impaired consciousness and six classified as emergency patients.