Unlit Truck, Injured Passenger, 8% Battery: The First Three Minutes

Priority order: stop the scene getting worse → treat → report.

1. Put the reflective vest on before opening the door, and get out on the side away from traffic.
2. Move yourself and the truck driver off the carriageway, behind the barrier or well up the icy shoulder. At 80 km/h a passing driver covers 22 m per second; a person standing in the lane is invisible until far too late.
3. The passenger stays in the car for now - she has neck pain after a rear-end impact, so moving her risks worsening a spinal injury. She comes out only if there is fire or an immediate second-collision risk.
4. Warning triangle: because your hazard lights are dead, the triangle is your only advance warning. Place it far back along the shoulder - on a fast road, at least 100 m, and ideally more at night - walking on the shoulder, never in the lane. If it cannot be placed safely, do not do it.
5. Call 119 first, not friends, not insurance. Give the road number, direction, nearest landmark or kilometre marker, two injured people, one dazed with neck pain, one bleeding. Ask the dispatcher to relay to the police. Prefer 119 to 112 because a spinal injury may need extraction and an ambulance.
6. With 8% battery: make that one call the priority, keep it brief, then stop using the screen. Do not photograph the scene until the call is made.

Passenger (possible cervical injury):

• Do not move her, do not remove her from the car, and do not take off her coat or seatbelt until help arrives - unless fire or a second collision forces evacuation.
• Support her head in line with the spine with both hands or a rolled-up jacket, and ask her to keep still.
• Keep her talking and watch her breathing; check every minute. Note whether she becomes drowsy, vomits, or stops responding - that is information the paramedics need.
• Keep her warm. At -5 °C, hypothermia deepens shock; use coats or a blanket over her body, but never over the face.
• Give nothing by mouth - no water, food or painkillers.

Truck driver (bleeding hand):

• Direct pressure with a clean dressing from the first-aid kit for a full 10 minutes, hand raised above heart level. Do not lift the dressing to check every 30 seconds - that restarts the bleeding.
• Keep him moving to stay warm and calm him; he is shouting because of shock and adrenaline, not aggression.

If she stops breathing: open the airway and begin chest compressions. If she is breathing but unresponsive, and you must move her because of fire, keep the head, neck and torso in a straight line while doing so.

The duty is unconditional. Under 도로교통법 제54조, a driver involved in an accident that injures a person must stop immediately, take the necessary steps to rescue and protect the injured (구호조치), and report to the police. This applies to you even though the truck was the one stopped without lights.

Why that matters here: leaving the scene without rescuing and reporting is the conduct that turns an ordinary accident into a hit-and-run under 특정범죄가중처벌법, with severe penalties regardless of who caused the crash. The truck driver's violation is a separate matter and does not reduce your duty by one step.

Practical sequence: do not move the vehicles before police arrive unless there is a secondary-collision risk; photograph the position of both vehicles, the missing taillights and the road conditions; exchange names, plates and insurance details; report the accident to your insurer and, for an injury claim, request a 교통사고사실확인원 from the police.

Fault: a rear-end collision normally puts the majority of responsibility on the following vehicle, but a stationary, unlit truck left in a live lane at night is a substantial contributing factor, so expect a split rather than an all-or-nothing outcome.