17-year-old Ibaraki boy dies after being found bleeding with tire marks on his head
IBARAKI —
A 17-year-old boy was found on an Ibaraki prefectural road in Hitachi City early Wednesday morning, bleeding from his head which had tire marks on it, police said.
Police said a man driving along at about 2 a.m. Wednesday noticed the boy lying on the road and called for an ambulance. The boy, Shota Iizuka, who lived nearby and was a third-grade student at a private high school, suffered a serious brain hemorrhage and was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after. Tire marks were found on the boy’s head in what appears to be a hit-and-run incident.
Police also said the boy had told his parents that he was going to dinner with some friends when he left home at about 8 p.m. Tuesday night.
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0
Disillusioned
Hit and run is becoming synonymous with Japanese culture. And yet, there seems to be no reaction from the cops or government to stop this plague of Japanese pathetiquette.
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pawatan
How do you stop hit-and-run? You can only try to stop the hit part, but if people are going to run despite laws against it what can you do?
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Speed
Make the penalty for "running" severe to the point that no would think about doing it. Change the rules of liability so that fault will be taken into consideration rather than the blanket "the driver was at fault no matter what."
My friend had a truck trailer suddenly pull out in front of him on his motorcycle. He had to do a slide right under the trailer in order not to get killed. The police put the fault 50/50 even though it was clearly the truck driver's fault. The reasoning by the police being that my friend shared half the blame for just being on the road. This kind of nonsense makes anyone want to separate themselves from an accident scene.
In this poor kid's case, regardless of fault, the driver should have helped him. A real human being would have.
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griff
and make it clear that helping at the scene of an accident will reduce the punishment by a grea deal, if not removing it entirely
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inakaRob
people pull out in front on me on a daily basis. It only takes me 6-7 minutes to drive to work. I get anywhere from 1 to 6 people pull out or almost pull out. There are so many blind corners, I have bikes and old ladies and cars that I almost hit everyday. I cant beilve in two years I have never hit anybody. and like you said. I am sure that if I was going the speed limit, and a bike came zooming around the blind corner with out looking or slowing down, it would be anywhere between 50 to 100% my fault. The reason that so many japanese probably run, is the same reason the do everything else. Shame and honor. If they stop, it doesnt matter how humane they look. then they have to live with the shame and dishonor. If the run, chances are they will never get cuaght, and wont bring shame to themsevles and their family. Its one of the biggest faults with japanese honor. its not all bad, but in this case is disgusting.
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wanderlust
On the way to work yesterday, found a toddler barely able to walk playing in the middle of the road, blissfully ignorant... Stopped, put on hazard warning lights, looked around, then saw what appeared to be the mother rushing up the road, from a gabfest with her friends, one of whom ironically was the road-crossing patrol monitor! Don't know if the kid got out, she left the door open or what. She just grabbed the little creature and ran off, without even a thank you!
Pedestrians need as much education as drivers, and from an earlier age.
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ratpack
Wanderlust...you should have smacked the mother in the head for being an idiot!!!!
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USNinJapan2
wanderlust
Good on ya for doing what you did. I would have lectured the ignorant mother and threatened to call the police/child services in the hopes of getting the point across to her and preventing a repeat occurence.
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whyamiinjapan
Terrible. Poor kid.
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TheguyNextdoor
Sad story, but did the parents even notice their son never came home from dinner? I would have been on the phone calling somebody, his friends parents....hopefully they can find the person(s)involved....i've seen the keystones find hit and run drivers before...
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pointofview
The only way these kinds of acts can be reduced or catching the individuals that drive carelessly is to have cameras up and down every street.
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nandakandamanda
Part of the problem is that the laws on hit and run, and the laws on drink driving, are too strict already.
Your life is essentially over anyway, so the temptation to flee has to be there in front of you, and if you are lucky you might just get away with it. With the relentless nature of the cops here who are actually quite good at chasing such cars down, I think they will catch the perpetrator within the next 10 days. If he/she was drinking, though, that part of the charge will be gone.
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pawatan
They are quite good at it because of all the vehicle tracking IR plate readers around. If they need to find a car they can with some ease.
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USNinJapan2
steen
You do live in Japan right? ; )
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moonbeams
Driver's actions were disgusting. No excuse. But it is possible that the driver did stop, see that there was no way to bring the young man back, and thought "live my life of go to jail."
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rei307
I live in Japan for 10 years... It seems like motorists hate to stop for pedestrians. At a crosswalk! It really makes#%$&%&%&
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MeanRingo
Ban cars altogether. Whoever took a 6-7 minute drive above should get off their lazy ass and ride a bike to work. Very little chance of killing a kid when you hit them with your bike. Drop the kuruma slave mentality people. Get off yer asses and onto a bike.
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GAYMAN
fairly incontrovertible evidence of a car being the suspect
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hoserfella
meanringo - Ban cars. funniest thing Ive read on JT for some time. The other day, a kid on a bike ran into me at a crosswalk. By your curious reasoning, we should now ban all bikes, as well.
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BeaverCleaver
Yet another person hit by a car. Those things are stealthy you know, and sneak up on people and then WHAM, like a leopard, they rise out of the underbrush and drag you down.
steen-"Yesterday my 16-year-old son was knocked off his bike on his way to school. "
And another! They really ought to make them big so people can see them coming. Perhaps they could also make them noisier by fitting them with a internal combustion engine or something like that. They should also make a clear path for the things to go on so it will be easier to judge their path. We could call it a "road", and encourage people to be open their ears and eyes when they approach it. It will be no mystery that people get hit until my ideas are implemented.
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BeaverCleaver
rei307-"I live in Japan for 10 years... It seems like motorists hate to stop for pedestrians. At a crosswalk! It really makes#%$&%&%&"
True, cars hate to go from 40k plus to a dead stop just so you can cross the road. But I prefer to think of it this way: It seems like pedestrians hate to stop for motorists, despite the fact that its much easier and less hassle and energy and time lost for a pedestrian to stop and start again. Also, the do this despite the law of steel, which states: Whoever has the most steel should be given the right of way. Failure to obey the law of steel can result in tire tracks on your head.
And its just a fact of steel, and even the kindest motorists may not be able to bend the law of steel for you before its too late. Ignore the law of steel at your peril.
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Icewind007
Unfortunately true. It may have been a true accident where the situation was all against the driver and the kid (may not) and this would have cost the driver the rest of his life (whether in jail or with the news following him around) whether it was an accident or not.
While I never drove in Japan (never had to), there are circumstances where people who decide to walk or ride a bike have to be very cautious. Blind corners abound on narrow streets. While I do believe the driver shares this responsibility, the pedestrians are the ones who may not have a second chance. For this reason, I think the responsibility falls heavier on the walkers, though the unfortunate liability will be on the driver (a vehicle is a legitimate weapon after all).
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YuriOtani
BeaverCleaver, in Japan drivers are suppose to be "professional drivers". It is the responsibility of the driver to avoid pedestrians, motor scooters and motor bikes. Just because the speed limit is 40km does not give the driver the right. Road conditions are an influence on a big factor on speed and the above factor into this. Thus a driver should drive perhaps 20km or less when the possibility of and accident exist. While the "fact of steel" is around it is the responsibility of the driver to drive at a safe speed where that rule will not be a factor.
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amerijap
Geez, this just sounds so terrible. Probably, an unidentified car(a mini-van or a truck) was running after the boy who was riding a bike along the road. I suspect there's no bike lane or a pedestrian sidewalk regarding the road condition regarding that it is a 'prefecture road.' It's likely to be the one designated highway for motor vehicles. It’s not the same as most roads you see in downtown Tokyo. ) He got hit from behind and then bumped him on the ground several feet away, catching his head beneath the wheel in a few seconds.
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BeaverCleaver
YuriOtani:"BeaverCleaver, in Japan drivers are suppose to be "professional drivers"."
Putting a Dom Perignon label on a bottle of Kool-Aid does not make it Dom Perignon.
"It is the responsibility of the driver to avoid pedestrians, motor scooters and motor bikes."
I do not mind that they have that responsibility. I mind that they have more responsibility even though it is far, far easier for pedestrians and bicyclists to avoid accidents with cars. You got to be blind to not see how much easier it is for them to avoid accidents with cars than vice-versa.
"Thus a driver should drive perhaps 20km or less when the possibility of and accident exist. "
Where doesn't the possibility for an accident exist? I am all for slowing down in extreme cases, such as when a local parade is using the other lane, but it sounds to me like you want traffic to slow to a crawl in a host of situations.
"While the "fact of steel" is around it is the responsibility of the driver to drive at a safe speed where that rule will not be a factor."
The only way the law of steel ceases to become a factor is if the car is traveling 0 kph. Even then a bike careening into it will still lose. Even so, yes, a driver should drive a safe speed, and I have no trouble with fining the driver if speed was truly a factor in an accident with a bicycle or pedestrian. But usually, it isn't the main factor. The main factor is that the pedestrian or bicyclist simply was not paying attention. How do you miss a speeding car heading your way? A car is easier to avoid than a bull if you are playing matador, and its still stupid to play matador with a car.
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YuriOtani
BeaverCleaver, does not matter. It is the responsibility of the driver to avoid accidents. Even if the auto has to come to a complete stop to do this. There may be the "fact of steel" but Japanese law is what is important. Unlike America a driver can not say the child just appeared out of nowhere. Break Japanese law at your own peril. Be aware, be ready, do not drive distracted and keep the streets safe for both people and autos.
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xGacktx
From a pedestrian's point of view: I would rather wait until it's safe to cross a road before I cross it than just start crossing assuming that the driver will stop. Drivers are in their own little world inside their cars and can't always see or hear what's going on around them. For all we know, this kid could have been in the driver's blindspot and was backed over. I'm not defending the driver though. The jerk should have stayed and faced the consequences of his actions or at least done something about it so the kid would have had a chance to live.
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