Elderly driver with dementia goes wrong way on airport expressway, injuring three

A vehicle traveling the wrong way on the Incheon International Airport Expressway collided with an oncoming van late at night, injuring three people.

The driver of the at-fault vehicle was a man in his 80s who had been reported missing in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, and had mild dementia.

According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's expressway patrol unit, the man — identified only as A — was driving a Tivoli the wrong way on the Seoul-bound lane of the Incheon International Airport Expressway near the Noji Junction in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, when it struck an oncoming Starex van at around 11:31 p.m. Monday.

Police said the Starex was carrying two people in their 40s, including the driver — one man and one woman. All three people involved, including A, sustained injuries but were not taken to hospital, as their conditions were not serious.

A had been driving straight from the Bukno Junction toward Incheon Airport when, just before reaching the Incheon Airport tollgate, he made a U-turn and drove the wrong way for about 7 kilometers before colliding with the oncoming van.

About 10 minutes before the crash, at around 11:21 p.m. Monday, the Gimpo Police Station in Gyeonggi Province received a missing-person report from A's family saying he had not returned home and requested cooperation from the expressway patrol unit.

A was not under the influence of alcohol and held a valid driver's license. He did, however, have mild dementia.

Police plan to investigate the precise circumstances of the accident before deciding whether to charge A.

The incident follows a high-profile crash in December 2024, when a driver in his 70s with advanced early-stage dementia plowed into a market in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, killing or injuring 13 people.

Under current road traffic law, drivers aged 75 and older must renew their licenses every three years and submit results from a basic cognitive screening test administered at a dementia care center at the time of renewal.

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority, as of 2024, a total of 18,568 dementia patients were classified as subject to a fitness assessment for their driver's licenses. Of those, only 1,235 — or 6.7 percent — submitted a medical certificate and underwent a periodic fitness examination. Of the 1,235 examined, just 58, or 4.7 percent, failed. The remaining 779, or 63.1 percent, were cleared to drive, while 398, or 32.2 percent, received a deferred ruling — meaning 1,177 dementia patients in effect retained their licenses.