South Korean mother who saved daughter from e-scooter crash suffering memory loss
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The woman and her daughter were struck by an electric scooter driven by two teens in October.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
SEOUL - A South Korean woman in her 30s who was severely injured in an e-scooter crash in October
It was reported on Dec 13 that the victim regained consciousness around Oct 24, six days after the accident, but has lost much of her memory.
“Her brain has been damaged, resulting in amnesia like the cases you see on TV dramas. She has no feelings for her children,” her husband was quoted as saying by local media outlets.
The accident occurred on Oct 18, when an electric scooter driven by two teens struck the victim and her young daughter on a sidewalk in Songdo-dong, Incheon.
The mother shielded her daughter and was able to protect her from severe injury, but the woman fell to the ground and had a serious head injury.
The husband said their children are suffering from emotional scars, possibly from the lack of care from their mother or because of trauma from the accident. He also said the family is under financial strain due to the significant costs incurred in treating the woman’s injury.
The two teens – 14-year-old girls in middle school – are under investigation for operating a vehicle without a valid licence, but are not covered by any insurance programmes that would have provided compensation for the accident.
The victim’s family has no means of seeking financial compensation, except to file a civil lawsuit against the teens’ families.
South Korea’s Road Traffic Act states that “personal mobility vehicles” such as e-scooters can be used only by those aged 16 and up with a licence to drive a motorised bicycle or car.
But the country has been seeing a consistent increase in the number of accidents involving personal mobility vehicles, especially those driven by people without a valid licence. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
