Passenger Killed and Four Injured in Three-Vehicle Crash in Pohang
A late-night collision involving a car and two other vehicles near the South Pohang Interchange left one passenger dead and four people injured. Police said alcohol was not involved and are examining the circumstances of the crash.
A man in his 30s died and four other people were injured in a three-vehicle collision in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, police said Friday.
The crash occurred at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday on a three-lane road near the South Pohang Interchange in Ocheon-eup. According to the police account, a car struck the rear of a moving truck, rebounded after the initial impact and then collided with another car traveling nearby.
The front-seat passenger in the first car, a man in his 30s, was found in cardiac arrest and transported to a hospital. He later died despite receiving medical treatment. Another male passenger in his 30s sustained serious injuries. The driver of the car, who is in their 20s, suffered minor injuries.
The two other vehicles were each driven by men in their 50s. Both drivers sustained minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals for treatment. The reported toll from the collision was therefore one death, one serious injury and three minor injuries across the three vehicles.
Police said the driver of the car that first hit the truck was not under the influence of alcohol. That finding rules out drunk driving as a factor identified at this stage, but authorities have not announced a final determination of the circumstances that led to the collision.
The sequence described by police indicates that the incident involved two successive impacts: the car first rear-ended the truck and then struck the second car after being deflected. Investigators will need to establish how the vehicles were positioned and moving before the crash, and what caused the first car to hit the truck. No additional conclusion about responsibility was disclosed in the initial report.
The collision happened near a major interchange serving southern Pohang, a coastal industrial city in North Gyeongsang Province. The exact condition of the seriously injured passenger beyond the initial classification was not reported.
Police are continuing to examine the accident. Their initial statement focused on the collision sequence, the conditions of the five people involved and confirmation that the first car’s driver had not consumed alcohol. Further findings had not been announced at the time of the report.