An intercity bus is seen after it collided with a small SUV that stopped in a bus-only lane near the Namcheongju Interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway, killing a female passenger of the SUV who had exited the vehicle and injuring three others on March 19, 2023. Courtesy of Chungbuk Fire Service Headquarters

Two men, an intercity bus driver and the driver of a car that stopped in a freeway bus-only lane resulting in a collision that killed the car driver's wife and injured three others, have been sentenced to serve prison time, according to court officials on Thursday.

The car's driver and his wife exited the stopped vehicle on the freeway during an argument.

The Daejeon District Court sentenced the 59-year-old bus driver to one year in prison for violating traffic laws, which resulted in the woman's death. The husband, 66, was sentenced to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter due to negligence.

The incident occurred on March 19 last year at 9:25 a.m. on the northbound lane of the Gyeongbu Expressway, 293 kilometers from Seoul, near Nami-myeon, Seowon District, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

The bus driver, who was driving an intercity bus in the inside lane of the four-lane road, hit and killed the 65-year-old woman who had exited the stopped car.

Investigations revealed that before the accident, the husband and his wife were driving on the highway when they began arguing about the speed at which he was driving.

In anger, the husband abruptly changed lanes into the bus-only lane and stopped the car. When he exited the vehicle, his wife got out from the passenger side and was attempting to move to the driver's seat when she was struck and killed by the bus.

This article was assisted by generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.