Driver in fatal car crash arrested

Police arrested over the weekend the driver of the car that swerved along Beach Road and slammed into a concrete fence of a residential compound in Oleai, resulting in the death of his wife.

Young Cheon Kim was apprehended for homicide by vehicle, driving on right side of highway-exceptions, exceeding maximum speed limit, reckless driving-bodily injury/property damage, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

A $500,000 cash bail was initially imposed for Kim’s temporary liberty.

The 41-year-old Kim was on a wheelchair when Corrections officers brought him to the Superior Court yesterday morning for a hearing. His right leg was bandaged. Lawyer Robert Torres served as counsel for Kim.

At the hearing, chief prosecutor Kevin Lynch agreed to a reduced $5,000 cash bail. Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo granted Lynch’s recommendation and allowed the temporary release of Kim to a third party custodian.

Govendo barred the defendant from drinking any alcoholic beverages. Arraignment was set for Dec. 18 at 9am.

Saipan World Resort financial/procurement director Young Bong Cho served as third party custodian.

Kim and his wife, Young Kyung Lee, 40, were both employed at Saipan World Resort.

Lee was pronounced dead at the Commonwealth Health Center by Dr. Martin Kohringer Saturday at 10:40pm.

The couple have two children, who were not with them when the accident happened.

Traffic investigator Flor T. Estabillo stated in his report that on Saturday at 10:10pm a police officer called the Department of Public Safety via police radio about a car crash along Beach Road in Susupe.

Estabillo said that when he and another officer responded to the scene, he saw a red Ford Taurus car with license plate ABK-127 resting by the concrete wall and facing south. The car had extensive damage to the front and interior.

A passenger, later identified as Lee, was trapped between the front passenger seat and the dashboard panel. DPS fire personnel were forced to use their “Jaws of Life” equipment to extract Lee.

The concrete wall sustained extensive damage and had a hole in it. Concrete debris were scattered in the yard of the residence of Steven Sablan.

Estabillo said that based on his observation at the scene, it appears that Kim’s vehicle was traveling north on Beach Road.

Estabillo said the vehicle veered right, struck a traffic sign, and then struck the wall in front of Sablan’s residence.

Upon striking the wall, the car’s nose remained in contact with the wall, while the rear of the vehicle lost contact with the ground and rotated clockwise.

The car’s final resting place was facing southeast. Majority of the damage was to the front passenger side.

Shortly after the arrival of the emergency medical technicians, Kim was transported to CHC for further treatment. Kim had abrasions on the right arm, right forearm, right hand, right chest, and left knee.

After Lee was extracted, she was brought to CHC where she was pronounced dead at 10:40pm on the same night.

Lee had severe head and chest trauma, fractured right rib cage, and a mangled right leg.

The police officer who had called DPS about the accident stated that, as he was driving south on Beach Road, Susupe, he saw the car traveling north at high speed. The car then ran off the roadway and hit the concrete wall.

Another witness told police that, as he was traveling north using the outer lane, he saw the car approaching from the rear at high rate of speed.

The witness said he thought he was going to get hit so he braced himself on the steering wheel. The car ran off the road and struck the wall.

At 11:45pm that night, police placed Kim under arrest.

Estabillo said extensive damage to the vehicle and concrete wall indicate that speed was a factor to the crash. Alcohol was another factor based on the blood drawn at CHC.

Attorney Torres said that Kim is recovering from his injuries and that it is a tragedy.

“We want to see that justice is done,” Torres said.