Man killed in hit-and-run incident found in drainage ditch days after death
IBARAKI —
Police in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture, said Wednesday they are searching for the driver responsible for a hit-and-run incident after a man was found dead in a drainage ditch on Tuesday morning.
According to police, a member of the public reported that a man was lying face down in a ditch by the side of the road, TBS reported. Police said later that the body had apparently been lying in the ditch for several days before discovery. The man was later identified by his personal effects and has been named as 42-year-old Masayuki Takatsuki, TBS said.
Police say Takatsuki had sustained fractures to his head and right leg that they believe to be consistent with a traffic accident. Investigators also found fragments of a vehicle at the scene and say there is a strong possibility that Takatsuki fell into the ditch after being hit by a car that failed to stop and report the collision, TBS reported.
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0
namabiru4me
Sad that he died, maybe sadder yet that no one reported him missing (at least according to this article).
-1
Nicky Washida
Oh my God. Poor poor guy. And I am guessing that at his age he maybe has a wife and young family? I wonder if he may have been saved had the driver stopped? We wil never know. RIP Masayuki san.
4
borscht
Nicky,
I wonder if his injuries killed him or if he drowned, since he was found face down in a drainage ditch. No mention of water in the ditch, however.
Still, to be injured and alone and not be missed is sad.
0
Maria
Poor man, and his poor family. What are the chances he had been reported missing by his family, but the coppers hadn't doen anything? But I'm just being cynical and that's not the point. I hope thay catch the driver - if this happened over the wekeend, alcohol may've been involved.
0
CrazyJoe
No one deserves to die like this with the exception of the hit and runner.
-5
Rogerrabbitt
Another hit and run...brings into question the culture of this country. Hit and run seems to be the norm here!
2
tmarie
Horrific. More needs to be done here with regards to blatant abuse of traffic laws.
6
tokyokawasaki
Another example of a Japanese law that needs to be updated using common sense. Until car drivers are not automatically at blame, the cases of hit-and-run will continue.
RIP Takatsuki-san, no one deserves to die like that.
3
Harry_Gatto
No excuse at all for hit and run BUT, if you are driving a vehicle and some idiot suddenly walks or rides in front of you and you have absolutely no chance of stopping, nothing at all that you can do, inder Japanese law you are to blame and will feel the full weight of the law. That's the way it is here and, in my opinion, is the reason that many drivers do not stop.
-2
gaijinTechie
The Japanese traffic regulations prohibit driving in such a reckless manner that the vehicle cannot be stopped before collision. The driver is ALWAYS responsible, and running away after causing an accident is a crime. Making excuses is a Japanese way and not accepted anywhere else in the world.
1
zichi
Hit and Runs are also common in any country, whenever people think they can get away with it. But the driver couldn't have even known if Masayuki Takatsuki was dead or alive when they fled the scene?
-1
Disillusioned
Or, was he put there by the driver?
2
Harry_Gatto
@ gt. Have you missed my point, are you criticising my post? Maybe I've missed your point however, you are technically right and that is the case in most countries. However, if you take that to extremes then you will never dare to move at all. I suggested that people may tend to hit and run in cases where they could not possibly avoid an accident but know that they will be blamed nevertheless. Anyone who drives in Japan knows that the average pedestrian or cyclist has the brains of a rocking horse when it comes to road safety.
-1
Elbuda Mexicano
This guy may have been drunk or homeless etc...hence nobody cared if he was missing or even if he was dead or alive. Sad sad reality of 2011 present day Japan. RIP dead dude in a cold muddy ditch out in Ibaraki.
0
Elvensilvan
Fixed.
Many cases of hit-and run (thus the case of hit-and-run) don't ever report, until someone comes up as a witness, or when a video recording has been found. But then again, some witnesses just say "mendoukusai naa~" and also choose not to report.
7
BlueWitch
Nicky, tmarie, everyone...
I've been told by my sister in law's husband (he's a keystone!) that there have been numerous cases where the driver had run twice or more over the victim to make sure is DEAD, apparently, killing the person is CHEAPER than paying for a injured person for the rest of her/his life. I have no problem believing this but is there anyone that have been witness to this sort of subhuman behavior? Horrible really.
-3
naruhodo1
Harry, and tjats the reason i wouldnt stop. And i urge everyone not to stop. U will b sent straight to jail with no trial. However, do the right thing and go to the nearest pay phone and report (please stay anonymous and DONT use ur mobile) drive safe
2
CrazyJoe
In traffic accidents, in most cases the driver is responsible but in a recent case in Osaka where two pedestrians were run over and killed by a lorry driver who was trying to avoid a van that suddenly swerved to the left due to a bicycle rider who suddenly crossed the street without taking precaution, the bicycle rider was sentenced to two years in jail. (not a suspended sentence) The two vehicle drivers were not indicted.
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20111128-00000089-san-soci
2
Samantha Zoe Aso
How terrible. That poor man. I hope he died instantly. How unbearable if he had lain there. Doesn't bear thinking about. RIP.
-1
Samantha Zoe Aso
BlueWitch. OMG! I can't even get my head round that.
4
Harry_Gatto
@Crazy Joe. Thank you for that, I hadn't seen it, good to see common sense being used for a change.
0
Nessie
Ibaraki in November? Could well have died of exposure.
3
ReformedBasher
@BlueWitch
You've been thumbed up. By me at least.
It's possible the driver was drunk and did not realise how his/her car got damaged the next day. It's alos possible that they will come forward now this story has come to light. Not that it will solve much now.
There's a lot of people who do run away or lie about what happened. As for me, I've hit an old lady on her bicycle - she came out of a side street and did not stop to look. It's pretty scary for the driver too, believe me. Fortunately she was okay but I did pay for some medical expenses and bought her a new bicycle.
Truth be told - we were both wrong, I was speeding (about 50 kph in a 40 kph zone) and I could not stop in time - swerving to avoid her saved her life but I still clipped her front tyre.
Whatever, I'm glad she was okay, and to be truthful, glad I did not have pay vast amounts of money in compensation. That's what I guess cause a lot of people to run - I'm glad I didn't but it was not something I want to experience again.
As for the thumbs, I don't care either way. Popularity does not interest me.
5
The Munya Times
I believe the law and the prosecution as well as the CSI process should change in order to not to scare drivers away and make them stay at the scene of the accident. Some of them perpetrators of hit-and-run are accidents are drunk or plain criminals but there are many others who are not responsible for the accident they shouldn't even be indicted, yet they will face a stupid ruthless procedure that can wreck their lives. Must pay millions to lazy incompetent thief lawyers, might lose their job do to a criminal procedure against them etc.
I am not surprised drunk, criminal drivers flee the scene and I am not surprised honest and innocent drivers flee the scene too. A stupid negligent cyclist jump in front of you and all your life career, hard work of long years have gone, your family and children are left without support, your saved money goes for lawyers and compensation and you can be happy if you can get away with suspended jail.
0
cleo
＞they cannot be bothered to consider readers request to give up the rating thing
Or they could copy Facebook and tell the world who was clicking up and down?
-1
Nicky Washida
I thumbed you up BW, but then I generally do - I am the phantom thumber upper on here!
And as for your post earlier about making sure the job is done properly - well, words fail me. Sometimes I wonder if people have a conscience at all.
1
Nicky Washida
So many things I wish I had the power to change here, one being actually making the police get off their butts and investigate an accident, rather than blaming the driver. As for the compensation payments - doesnt insurance cover these things or do people have to pay from their own pockets?
0
sillygirl
so sa that no one wondered where he was for a few days.
0
sillygirl
sorry so sad
0
Johannes Weber
@Nessie:
Definitely not. The radiation in Tsuchiura and immediate surroundings is really very low despite the fallout. He might have fallen on an extreme hotspot and died from radiation before the accident might have finished him - but that's ruled out by Occam's razor. Furthermore, Japanese doctors should be capable of diagnosing physical trauma.
Tsuchiura and surroundings have quite a few rash drivers. A lot of BOSOZOKU tend to wake me up often at night. Lot's of traffic accidents here. Many young drivers in Tsukuba, who are students and a bit inexperienced. Insurance is not always taken serious here. Or traffic rules. I've seen friends driving in a definitely IHAN manner. Thus, if there is any such reason, some people might think that it is better for them to run instead of reporting (though I would not judge said friends to be such bad guys). Bring that together with alcohol and stress and horrible things might happen. Let's hope that I'm wrong.
1
The Munya Times
@BlueWitch
That's what I mentioned too. That's about CSI, witness protection ect. Hopeless.
You know for the perpetrator it is easier to kill the victim and the same way for the police and the prosecutors, it is easier to jail the driver than conduct an effective investigation and put the real guy at fault into jail. All one. Someone got hurt, someone died, someone most go to jail. Order and discipline. The driver will be O.K. The stronger is responsible and the one who caused injury is a the all time bad guy. No time and money to spend to find out what had happened and they busy to run to their well laid speed traps to ticket other drivers and earn some more money.
That's what they do, Isn't it lovely ?
0
Nessie
Who said anything about radiation? I was referring to the weather in Ibaraki. If you're hit in this season and you survice but can't move, you have a very good chance of dying by exposure (to the elements, i.e., the cold).
1
Fadamor
Until car drivers are not automatically at blame, the cases of hit-and-run will continue.
Overly simplistic. Drivers are not automatically to blame here where I live, yet we still have cases of hit and runs.
0
Balefire
Crazy Joe, I saw that story on the TV news, and was astounded that the drivers were not arrested. I've been driving here for 40 years, and that's the first time that I've seen a just, rational treatment of a traffic accident of its type, without the seemingly obligatory automatic arrest for "professional negligence".
0
VicMOsaka
RogerrabbittDec. 01, 2011 - 09:08AM JST Another hit and run...brings into question the culture of this country. Hit and run seems to be the norm here!
Why do you presume that it is only Japanese that hit and run ? Foreigners have also been responsible in the past, and I personally know of a foreigner who escaped from this country after a hit and run resulting in death.
0
Elbuda Mexicano
Driving in Japan is extremely crazy!!
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