“Afraid they’d report me” ... Driver in their 40s speeds off with the passerby who woke them after they fell asleep while driving drunk clinging to the SUV

[Financial News] A drunk driver who had parked on the roadside and fallen asleep was caught by police after speeding off with a passerby who had woken them clinging to the vehicle.
Cheongju Heungdeok Police Station in North Chungcheong Province said on the 27th that it had booked Driver A, in their 40s, without detention and was investigating them on suspicion of hit-and-run causing injury (injury caused by dangerous driving) under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes, and drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.
According to police, A is suspected of injuring B, a passerby in their 30s, by driving about 100–200 meters on a road in Bongmyeong-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, at around 9:30 p.m. on the 25th, with B clinging to the driver's side of A's small sport utility vehicle (SUV).
Police believe that A, who was heavily intoxicated at the time, parked on the roadside and fell asleep in the driver's seat, then pressed the accelerator and fled when B, who was passing by, approached and woke them. B, who was dragged along as A sped off, tumbled onto the road and sustained injuries requiring four weeks of treatment.
A was caught in the act and arrested by police, who began pursuing them after receiving a report from victim B. At the time of A's arrest, their blood alcohol concentration was found to be at a level warranting license revocation, indicating that they were heavily intoxicated.
A reportedly told police during questioning, in effect, “I did it because I was afraid B would report that I had driven drunk and I would be punished.” Police are continuing to investigate A to determine the exact circumstances of the incident.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter