Man with Sleep Apnea Diagnosis Involved in Fatal Tokyo Accident

Tokyo, Aug. 6 (Jiji Press)--A 34-year-old man was involved in a fatal traffic accident in Tokyo in April after being diagnosed with sleep apnea syndrome, police sources said Thursday.

He was arrested on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in injury at the site of the accident in the capital’s Setagaya Ward and was released later. In the accident, a pedestrian in his 70s was hit by the man’s car and died.

The traffic investigation division of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department revealed that the driver had stopped using a prescribed medical device to treat his condition and felt sleepy from the time he started driving on the day of the accident.

If he is charged with dangerous driving resulting in death due to sleep apnea syndrome, it would be the country’s first such case.

The accident occurred at an intersection in Setagaya around 6:20 a.m. on April 3, when the driver ran a red light and struck the pedestrian who was walking across the crosswalk.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]