GUNMA (TR) – An 87-year-old driver crushed his acquaintance against a wall while parking, Gunma Prefectural Police said on Tuesday, the latest in a spate of traffic incidents involving elderly drivers.
The male driver was trying to park in an underground parking lot in Takasaka City, Gunma Prefecture when he crushed and seriously injured his female acquaintance who was giving directions against a wall, Nippon News Network reports (November 15).
The driver likely erred operating the steering wheel and the brakes, police said, adding that an investigation is under way.
The case comes after multiple traffic incidents involving elderly drivers have been reported nationwide.
On Sunday, an 82-year-old driver allegedly struck a cyclist who later died in Tokyo.
The day before, a female 83-year-old driver killed two pedestrians at a hospital in Tokyo, where police said she could have mistook the accelerator for the brake.
On Friday, a male driver in his 80s in Tokyo smashed into a convenience store and asked for cigarettes. Police said he was likely suffering from dementia.
