Family says goodbye to daughter killed by drunk driver

The 9 year-old Bae Seung-ah's mother asked the pallbearers to be gentle, telling them that her daughter might get nauseous. Seung-ah was killed by a drunk driver on Saturday. The driver drank 14 bottles of soju and beer with eight other people.

The bereaved mother lays her hand on the coffin where her 9-year-old daughter Bae Seung-ah lies at the funeral home at Eulji Medical Center in Daejeon on Tuesday. The 9-year-old was killed by a drunk driver who hit three other children walking on the sidewalk near an elementary school. The speed limit near schools is 30 kilometer per hour. This is the second drunk driving incident that killed a child in the last four months. The last was in December, when a 39-year-old taxi company owner ran over another 9-year-old near a school in Gangnam, Seoul. [YONHAP]

Bae Seung-ah mother had a hard time letting go of her youngest child, who lay in the coffin.

“My lovely Seung-ah, I hope you find peace in heaven,” the mother said in tears while clutching Seung-ah’s favorite doll.

She asked the pallbearers to be gentle, telling them that her daughter might get nauseous.

The urn containing Seung-ah’s ashes was placed at Daejeon Memorial Park.

Seung-ah was killed by a drunk driver on Saturday. The driver ran into the 9-year-old along and three other children after losing control on a left turn.

The four children were on their way back from a store.

After hitting the sidewalk on the other side of the road, the car swerved into the children walking near an elementary school where the speed limit was 30 kilometers per hour (18.6 miles per hour).

Seung-ah was rushed to the hospital, but she died early Sunday morning.

The brother of Bae Seung-ah carries a picture of the 9 year old as her coffin was carried out of the Eulji Medical Center in Daejeon, Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The 66-year-old driver was heavily intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of 0.124 percent, far above the 0.08 percent limit for having a license revoked.

According to the police, the unnamed person drank 14 bottles of soju and beer with eight other people.

The man claimed that he only drank half a bottle of soju. He drove 7 or 8 kilometers before hitting the children.

The police said the man claimed he had no memory of crashing into the children and all he can remember was turning the steering wheel left after hitting the sidewalk.

Bae Seung-ah’s brother and mother at the Daejeon Memorial Park where the urn containing the ashes of the 9 year-old was placed on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

However, when he faced reporters at the police station on Monday as he was escorted to court, he said he accidently stepped on the gas when he was actually trying to hit the brakes.

“I apologize to the victim and the family,” the man said.

The court approved an arrest warrant three hours after reviewing it, saying the suspect was a flight risk.

The 26-year-old brother of the girl told a radio show host Monday that the last call Seung-ah made was to ask their mom if she could play for another 15 minutes.

He also talked about how affectionate Seung-ah was, adding that he recently noticed that the four digits to her smartphone’s password was his birthday.

“She always followed me and stuck to my mom like gum,” the brother said. “Seung-ah’s birthday is May 21. She was supposed to turn double digits.”

A driver faces jail time of 15 years or a 30 million won ($22,000) fine if they injure a child 13 years old or younger in a school zone with a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour while under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

However, the penalty could increase to life if the child is killed.

Bae Seung-ah's favorite doll. [YONHAP]

BY LEE HO-JEONG, SHIN JIN-HO [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]