dementia 復習
最近相次いで起きている、高齢者ドライバーによる事故についての記事からです。
Latest car accident involving an elderly driver leaves two dead in Tachikawa
A man and a woman have died after being hit by a car driven by an 83-year-old woman at a hospital in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, the latest in a series of serious car accidents caused by elderly drivers.
The accident occurred near the parking area at the National Disaster Medical Center around 3 p.m. Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Tachikawa police station.
Police said the car driven by Sachiko Uezu hit Tatsuhiro Awa, 39, and his acquaintance, Taeko Ichikawa, 35, when they were walking on a sidewalk some 25 meters from the parking area’s exit. The two were taken to a hospital, where they were confirmed dead.
Although Uezu said she had attempted to stop, no tire marks or other traces of braking were found, sources said. The police plan to question Uezu, who was also hurt in the accident, to glean further details of the accident after she recovers. They are considering charging her with negligent driving resulting in the deaths.
A man who made an emergency call said the car struck the two pedestrians after breaking through a gate bar in the parking area.
Uezu has not been diagnosed with dementia, police added.
取り上げる単語は"dementia"です。
『ジーニアス英和辞典』第4版(大修館)で調べてみると、「(脳病、脳腫瘍による)痴呆、認知症」とあり、"dementia praecox"で「早発性痴呆症(今は"schizophrenia"「統合失調症」を用いる)とありました。
LDOCEでは"an illness that affects the brain and memory, and makes you gradually lose the ability to think and behave normally"と表現されていました。
事故を起こした83歳の女性は、診断の結果「認知症」ではなかったとのことです。(Akim)
