Motorcyclist dies in police chase in Osaka

Monday 14th July, 11:05 AM JST

OSAKA —

A 21-year-old man on Sunday night died in a crash after being chased by police in Konohana, Osaka, police said Monday. Tadashi Isoyama, 21, who was riding a motorbike, crashed into a car around 10:25 p.m. after being chased by a patrol car for speeding. He was taken to hospital but died. The driver of the car he crashed into was uninjured.

Police said that Isoyama was pulled over for speeding, but took off as police cautioned him. He led police on a 1.4-kilometer chase before he crashed into the car. A police spokesman said: “We really feel sorry for the victim. However, our actions were appropriate and necessary.”

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Latest 15 of 26 Total Comments Show All

Rio at 03:59 PM JST - 14th July

While I think the police should show zero tolerance for dangerous riding/driving, there is some wisdom in the decision not to chase, as the chase often ends with a crash and that crash often results in the deaths of innocent motorists or pedestrians. The alternative to the chase is getting the license plate number, showing up at their address the next day, and hitting them with something like a life-long ban on driving. But even if you don't get the license plate number, is it such a big deal to let it go in the interests of public safety? I think not, and I dare say that the uninjured car driver would agree with me.
JeromeInJapan at 04:01 PM JST - 14th July

The Police should not have given chase. They had his details. Just radio ahead and set a road block or somthing. Id say he ended up going fast due to the fact that the police gave chase. But of course they will not tell you that. They immediately cover their own 6 and say the acted appropriatley... obviously not! They just added fuel to the fire.
Zen_Builder at 04:04 PM JST - 14th July

I agree there was no need to chase him.

Dashboard camera should have the licence number, etc from when they pulled him over, etc.
timeon at 04:53 PM JST - 14th July

usually the speeding guys are careful enough to roll up their plate number, such as to avoid being easily identified by police. It may have been a stolen motorcycle, and then the number is irrelevant. and I would say the guy wasn't very experience, it's not that difficult to lose a patrol car by motorcycle, especially on a crowded road.
romulus3 at 10:01 PM JST - 14th July

he made his choice. No one forced his hand. He dies by the consequences of his own action. 21 is old enough to know the score.
Rio at 12:01 AM JST - 15th July

romulus3...he could have taken a few people down with him...or survived the crash when others were killed. And while no-one forced him to run, you can't say that the chase did not have a role in causing the crash. And no, a 21 year-old bike rider does not know the score. The cops should have understood the threat he would pose in a chase situation and let him go hide somewhere for a while.
usaexpat at 12:44 AM JST - 15th July

He must not have been a motorcycle racing ace if the chase ended with his death after a mere 1.4 km. If you choose to run from the PoPo you are putting your life and the lives of others at risk. What a waste of a life.
HonestDictator at 03:35 AM JST - 15th July

Sorry guys, but I'm with the group that says "Stupid is as stupid does". Its sad he lost his life over it, but life deals out lessons, and some you never get to learn from even after you've paid the ultimate price. The blame and responsibility lies solely on the motorist. Should the police have given chase? Maybe yes maybe no. It was the motorist that decided to run, and they acted accordingly.

As for this serving as a lesson for others of his ilk, hopefully some of them will get a lot wiser about things like that. HOPEFULLY.
HonestDictator at 03:45 AM JST - 15th July

Choice and consequences. If he hadn't been speeding in the first place, he would not have been pulled over.
Molenir at 06:01 AM JST - 15th July

Speeding, then choosing to run for it. Hey, sorry the idiot died. But it was his choice to make, no one forced him to do it. No one made the choice for him. Regarding the police giving chase, and how he wouldn't have died if they hadn't... Sorry, thats just stupid. They needed to get him off the streets.
USARonin at 06:16 AM JST - 15th July

If this was taped by a news crew or police chopper, I'll get to see it happen on SpikeTV, probably nex' week.

G'bless Sikorski and the dude who invented zoom cameras... and technicolor.

USAR
USARonin at 06:19 AM JST - 15th July

"Every one of us has done something foolish in our lives that might have gotten us killed. We were just a lot luckier."

Amen to that. I don't know how I made it to twenty-five. -And I've got a couple of healed scars for proof of the dumbass "live fast and leave a good lookin' corpse" mentality.

Phew.

USAR
WilliB at 10:17 AM JST - 15th July

JeromeinJapan:

" The Police should not have given chase. They had his details. Just radio ahead and set a road block or somthing. "

For a bike? In a Japanese town? Ridiculous idea. He´d be long gone before any roadblock could be arranged. Of course, if they had his details already, they could have simply picked him up at home.
Proffessor at 10:44 AM JST - 15th July

This is what I call 'self-sentence' MHSRIP.
romulus3 at 09:21 PM JST - 15th July

why should the police not give chase? they were just doing there job and the rider payed for endangering others and breaking the law with his life. lets get it right shall we. the rider endangered people by his action, not the cops. he deserves his death for pushing things further than he could handle.