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Dear Nagase Osamu and others: I was sorry to hear about IZUMI Yoshihide's death. My mother, who was Deaf, was killed in a similar way in 1973. She was crossing a street in New York. A driver honked his horn assuming she would hear, and she did not. The death was ruled a homocide, and the driver was prosecuted. I do not believe that her deafness entered into any discussion of the crime. (The driver was speeding.) However, the issue of disability entered in another way. Our family brought a civil suit and although we "won," we were ultimately awarded a ludicrously small amount for her death. This is because judgment is based on her future earning capacity. Since she was 62, deaf, and employed at a low-paying, part-time job, her expected future earnings before retirement at 65 were deemed to be something near $4000. After court costs, lawyers fees, etc. my brother and each received a check for $500. Of course, the money was not the issue, but this shows how much socio-economic status is linked to disability issues. I am still amazed that driving instruction and defensive driving courses never mention the possibility that pedestrians might not hear well. At 11:34 AM 9/9/1999 +0900, you wrote: >Dear All, > >At around 00:30 Friday morning last week, >a young Deaf leader in Japan,IZUMI Yoshihide, >who was my sign languager teacher once, >was killed. It was a hit and run away case. >The driver has been arrested. > >According to a paper, the police considers his deafness >as one of the causes of the his death. The car was coming >from behind and because he was deaf, he could not >react... > >I just wonder this kind of thinking is limited to >this country. > >Izumi was also a manager at now-closed DEAFTOPIA, >a sign language cafe in Tokyo, where voice >communication was prohibited. > >NAGASE Osamu >[log in to unmask] >tel/fax +81-(0)45-503-1219 >http://itass01.shinshu-u.ac.jp/tateiwa/1.htm > > > > > > > Best, Lennard J. Davis Professor and Graduate Director Department of English Binghamton University Binghamton, NY 13902 607-777-2770 Fax: 607-777-2408 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%