Two workers have been detained on charges of negligently causing the death of an elementary school student while operating a ladder truck used for moving furniture at an apartment complex.
The Cheonan Dongnam Police Station in Chungcheongnam-do Province said on the 28th that it had detained a ladder truck operator in his 50s, identified as A, and a foreign national in his 20s, identified as B, who was staying in the country illegally. Both face charges of professional negligence resulting in death. The Cheonan branch of the Daejeon District Court issued the detention warrants that morning after questioning the two suspects, citing a risk of flight.
The two are accused of toppling the ladder while operating a moving truck at an apartment complex in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, at about 8:38 a.m. on the 26th, killing a 7-year-old elementary school student, identified as C, who was on his way to school.
Police found that only two of the ladder truck's four stabilizing outriggers had been deployed at the time of the accident. A told police that he had carried out all the work himself, but closed-circuit television footage showed that B had been operating the ladder truck. Police believe A gave a false statement out of concern over B's illegal residency status and have added a charge of harboring a criminal.
