“The tragedy of Starex, where 7 people died before being overthrown…”

At about 8:28 am on the 1st, a Starex van fell over at the Namsejong Intersection (85km from Dangjin) on the Dangjin-Yeongdeok Expressway, which is the border between Yuseong-gu and Sejong Geumnam-myeon, Daejeon.

Seven people in the vehicle died in this accident. Five passengers were also injured and moved to a nearby hospital, of which two were seriously injured. The driver, Mr. Kim, was injured, but life is not affected. The deceased was taken to Daejeon Sacred Heart Hospital, and the injured to Daejeon Eulji University Hospital.

According to police and fire departments, the accident was found to have lost its center of gravity and overturned after hitting a high-pass information signpost installed on the left side of the road while the vehicle was turning to the right. The speed limit for this section is 40 km/h. The police said, “It seems that there was an accident while the car overtaking the vehicle in front of it and speeding up the road.”

A police investigation revealed that all 11 passengers, except the driver, did not wear seat belts. A police official said, “It seems that the damage was great because the passengers did not fasten their seat belts.”

In addition, the police explained that there was no black ice or other phenomenon on the road because it was the warm weather in the video at the time of the accident. Black ice is a phenomenon in which the snow melted on the road freezes back into thin ice when the temperature suddenly drops. According to the vehicle specifications, the police say that the capacity is not exceeded.

All occupants were found to be construction site workers in their 40s to 50s. Of these, 10 are Chinese and 2 are Koreans. Among the dead, one Korean was included. The police said, “These are not illegal residents.”

They lived together in accommodation in Yeonseo-myeon, Sejong City, and some of them were found to be Chinese. They were on their way back to work in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do this morning, when it rained and the work was canceled.

The fire department and road construction mobilized about 70 people and 10 vehicles to fix the accident. The entrance to the Nam Sejong Interchange, which was once controlled in the morning, resumed after an hour and a half after the accident. Sejong City also sent a disaster message to citizens around 9:34 am on the same day to guide them to detour to the surrounding roads.

The police are investigating the exact details of the accident based on the recorded video of CCTV and witness statements.

Daejeon = Reporters Banghyun Kim, Jongkwon Choi, Jinho Park [email protected]