Comes daily to bring meals and care
Accident occurred while waiting for daughter-in-law
In a tragic accident where a dementia-stricken mother-in-law lying in the yard at midnight was accidentally run over by her daughter-in-law's car, residents unanimously expressed their sorrow, describing the daughter-in-law as a 'filial daughter-in-law.'
On the 18th, police and fire authorities announced that at 9:01 p.m. the previous day in Seongdang-myeon, Iksan-si, Jeonbuk, A (55), who was returning home, hit her mother-in-law B (91) who was in the yard with her car. B, who was suffering from dementia, had been outside in the yard for two hours before A arrived and had fallen asleep there. B was injured in the accident and taken to the hospital but ultimately passed away.
According to Yonhap News, residents collectively praised A as the "most filial daughter-in-law." Summarizing the reports, A, who works in downtown Iksan, has been visiting her mother-in-law's house at 8:40 a.m. for the past 7 to 8 years to take care of her. While her mother-in-law was at a daytime care center until the afternoon, A worked, and after returning home around 4:40 p.m., she would visit again to prepare meals and take care of her.
As B's mobility worsened, A and her husband wanted to move her to a nursing hospital. However, B expressed a wish to die sleeping in her hometown house. Their son, C (66), installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras throughout the house and various handrails inside to make it easier for his mother to stand and sit. Checking the hometown house through CCTV connected to his mobile phone was his main daily task.
C, who works in the metropolitan area, would come down on Friday afternoons to care for his mother and then return to work on Sunday evenings or Monday early mornings, repeating this routine. On the day of the accident, it is understood that A was turning right into the yard from an alleyway to take care of B when the accident occurred.
The village chief said, "The elder (B) was very neat and refused to wear adult diapers, and until three years ago, she was healthy enough to work in the fields," adding, "Due to her advanced age, her health had declined over the years, and A took care of all these chores. A broke down in tears after causing the accident." He continued, "The shock to A's family is immense," and expressed his sorrow, saying, "Where can you find such a filial daughter-in-law these days?"
The police believe that A did not notice B lying in the yard and are investigating the circumstances of the accident by securing CCTV footage.
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