There was a horrible accident over the weekend outside of Yongsan Garrison’s Gate 13:
Military Police investigate the site of a fatal car crash outside Gate 13 at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, June 9, 2018.
An American family headed to a high school graduation ceremony on Yongsan Garrison was struck by tragedy on Saturday when their car was involved in a fatal collision with a motorcycle.
The crash, which occurred outside Gate 13, killed two people — one American and the South Korean motorcycle driver — and injured another American, garrison spokesman Wes Hayes told Stars and Stripes.
Hayes declined to identify the casualties and said the cause of the crash remained under investigation.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims of this tragic accident today,” Hayes said.
Many members of the community gathered at a chapel on post after the graduation ceremony to console each other and grieve.
A person at the chapel said the fatality was an American girl who was with her family on the way to watch her brother graduate from Seoul American High School. Her father, a civilian, was reportedly in critical condition. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but hat tip to ROK Head Guitard for leaving the below link that shows the aftermath of this accident:
This next video shows the injured American father asking for help:
Condolences to all the family and friends effected by this tragic accident.
Isolated incident, but so much for the seatbelt argument. Poor kid.
Rascal1212
6 years ago
Sad. Notoriously bad intersection.
guitard
6 years ago
“Isolated incident, but so much for the seatbelt argument. Poor kid.”
I was thinking about that …
My guess is that since the motorcycle hit on her side of the car and basically exploded, she was probably engulfed in flames literally a split second after impact. And even if she was able to get her seat belt off, she wouldn’t have been able to open the passenger side door (because of damage).
It’s sad to think her dad probably had no chance to try and save her, and the only thing he could do was bail from the car and try to save himself – knowing that his daughter is literally getting burned to death.
Flyingsword
6 years ago
Motorcycle must have been going like a bat of hell, as they are want to do here in Korea. No braking, hit the car straight up. That intersection is terrible, left turn has an arrow and also unprotected left turn (Bi Bo Ho) are allowed. If he was making a left on the arrow, Korean motorcycle, as is typical, probably had no plan to stop for the red light. If he was making the turn on the unprotected left, wonder if he even saw the motorcycle going as fast as it was. Either way, sucks.
johnhenry
6 years ago
Did you see the state of the motorcycle and the debris from it? There’s no way that bike was going anywhere near at or below the speed limit.
Rascal1212
6 years ago
As with so many streets in Seoul there is no attempt with law enforcement. Speeds on that street easily get as high as 140km. I drive it daily. A red light means nothing.
setnaffa
6 years ago
Sad that so many Darwin Award contestants take out innocent people like that
J6Junkie
6 years ago
Where was Commie Moon when the bat out of hell exploded on the streets of Seoul?
johnhenry
6 years ago
“but so much for the seatbelt argument”. I don’t understand this comment. Without a belt, she’d still have been a missile herself inside the car, given the apparent force of the impact.
guitard
6 years ago
While driving out Gate 13 today, I realized that although this accident initially occurred on the road outside Gate 13, the vehicle ended up inside the gate (as you can see from the white paint markings on the ground). I can’t help but wonder if the Korean police are handling this investigation by themselves, or if the Yongsan Garrison MPs are also involved because of this unusual turn of events.
Yongsanarmyguy
6 years ago
One possible contributor to this tragedy is the absolute apathy of Korean traffic police. The reason that motorcycles speed like crazy and don’t stop at red lights is because the police here don’t give a damned. When motorcyclists know that there’s no chance of getting a ticket, they will – and do – drive like maniacs. And that may have cost two people their lives.
J6Junkie
6 years ago
And the speed cameras seem to only work for cars or don’t even work at all.
Flyingsword
6 years ago
J6, no license plates on the fronts of motorcycle, so no speed cam problems for them.
J6Junkie
6 years ago
That’s a ton of crap Flyingsword. I’m so sorry this happened to that family.
MTB Rider
6 years ago
Speed cameras are purely reactive. If you roll through one too fast, you get a ticket.
I had a car with a slightly bent license plate. Apparently, it was bent “just enough.” The police never pulled me over or gave me crap, but I noticed one day that my wife was still getting speeding tickets in her SUV, but I hadn’t gotten a ticket in months. Knowing I tend to be heavier on the gas pedal, I knew I had to have blown through a ticket cam a time or two.
Tragic that this happened to this family, but Korea has never been at the forefront of safety. It is still the land of the white envelope.
SPEECHLESS
6 years ago
MTB Rider–Your ignorance is appalling. You make fun of Korean traffic laws, yet openly admit to not keeping them. Looks like it could have easily been you responsible for an innocent life. How about fixing yourself before ripping on the country you choose to take advantage of?
ChickenHead
6 years ago
So the cousin of someone at “jewishpublicaffairs.org” cheated them to make money?
Isolated incident, but so much for the seatbelt argument. Poor kid.
Sad. Notoriously bad intersection.
“Isolated incident, but so much for the seatbelt argument. Poor kid.”
I was thinking about that …
My guess is that since the motorcycle hit on her side of the car and basically exploded, she was probably engulfed in flames literally a split second after impact. And even if she was able to get her seat belt off, she wouldn’t have been able to open the passenger side door (because of damage).
It’s sad to think her dad probably had no chance to try and save her, and the only thing he could do was bail from the car and try to save himself – knowing that his daughter is literally getting burned to death.
Motorcycle must have been going like a bat of hell, as they are want to do here in Korea. No braking, hit the car straight up. That intersection is terrible, left turn has an arrow and also unprotected left turn (Bi Bo Ho) are allowed. If he was making a left on the arrow, Korean motorcycle, as is typical, probably had no plan to stop for the red light. If he was making the turn on the unprotected left, wonder if he even saw the motorcycle going as fast as it was. Either way, sucks.
Did you see the state of the motorcycle and the debris from it? There’s no way that bike was going anywhere near at or below the speed limit.
As with so many streets in Seoul there is no attempt with law enforcement. Speeds on that street easily get as high as 140km. I drive it daily. A red light means nothing.
Sad that so many Darwin Award contestants take out innocent people like that
Where was Commie Moon when the bat out of hell exploded on the streets of Seoul?
“but so much for the seatbelt argument”. I don’t understand this comment. Without a belt, she’d still have been a missile herself inside the car, given the apparent force of the impact.
While driving out Gate 13 today, I realized that although this accident initially occurred on the road outside Gate 13, the vehicle ended up inside the gate (as you can see from the white paint markings on the ground). I can’t help but wonder if the Korean police are handling this investigation by themselves, or if the Yongsan Garrison MPs are also involved because of this unusual turn of events.
One possible contributor to this tragedy is the absolute apathy of Korean traffic police. The reason that motorcycles speed like crazy and don’t stop at red lights is because the police here don’t give a damned. When motorcyclists know that there’s no chance of getting a ticket, they will – and do – drive like maniacs. And that may have cost two people their lives.
And the speed cameras seem to only work for cars or don’t even work at all.
J6, no license plates on the fronts of motorcycle, so no speed cam problems for them.
That’s a ton of crap Flyingsword. I’m so sorry this happened to that family.
Speed cameras are purely reactive. If you roll through one too fast, you get a ticket.
I had a car with a slightly bent license plate. Apparently, it was bent “just enough.” The police never pulled me over or gave me crap, but I noticed one day that my wife was still getting speeding tickets in her SUV, but I hadn’t gotten a ticket in months. Knowing I tend to be heavier on the gas pedal, I knew I had to have blown through a ticket cam a time or two.
Tragic that this happened to this family, but Korea has never been at the forefront of safety. It is still the land of the white envelope.
MTB Rider–Your ignorance is appalling. You make fun of Korean traffic laws, yet openly admit to not keeping them. Looks like it could have easily been you responsible for an innocent life. How about fixing yourself before ripping on the country you choose to take advantage of?
So the cousin of someone at “jewishpublicaffairs.org” cheated them to make money?
How did they nazi that coming?