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Four people were killed when a car crashed into a minivan in Kagawa Prefecture, early Sunday morning.
According to police, the accident happened at around 3:50 a.m., when a minivan carrying seven people made a right turn at an intersection and was hit from the side by a car carrying two in the city of Utazu, TBS reported.
Police said that the 22-year-old driver of the car, Ryoma Seki, 22, and three passengers in the minivan were killed. Two of the minivan passengers were identified as Taka Yanagihara and Jin Fujimoto, both 18, but the third victim's name and age have not been released yet, TBS reported. The passenger in the car and three others in the van were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Police are continuing their investigation into the cause of the accident, but said that 19-year-old driver of the minivan apparently went through a red light.
© Japan Today
8 Comments
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Elbuda Mexicano
Let me guess, somebody in this accident had way, way too much alcohol and now they have all paid with their lives. So RIP??
smithinjapan
"Police are continuing their investigation into the cause of the accident."
Sounds like the cause was a car driven by kids ran a red light and hit a potentially over-loaded mini-van. The 'cause' is obviously negligence, and one of the reasons why is because traffic laws are not well enforced. Instead of pulling over bicycles the police could EASILY curb the running of red lights by pulling more cars that do so over and giving out massive fines or jail time (for repeaters). This is the second accident in two days involving a person running a red light.
nath
And if you anything about Kagawa, out on Shikokoku island, they drink like theirs no tomorrow so this really helps running them red lights and bang! You or all of your buddies will be dead or wishing you were dead, tis the season to be jolly?? But not drunk behind the wheel IMHO
kimuzukashiiiii
Very, very sad for the 22 year old driving the car properly, minding his own business, and obeying the law, to be hit by morons of around his own age who were unable to do the same.
My sincere condolences to the parents and family of the 22 year old car fatality.
ebisen
next time wear your seatbelt. oh wait, there's gonna be no next time for four of them. R.I.P.
Americanhonor
@smiithinjapan Police said the 19 year old driver of the minivan apparently ran a red light.
Not the 22 yr old driver of the car.
Definitely alcohol involved in my opinion. Always a dangerous time of year to be on the roads with the number of drunk drivers in Japan and very few traffic patrol cars out patrolling at all after midnight.
smithinjapan
Americanhonor: "@smiithinjapan Police said the 19 year old driver of the minivan apparently ran a red light."
Which only strengthens my point that 'KIDS' were driving the car. Where did I say it was the 22 year old? As for alcohol, it's very probable, which would mean another crime added against the kid as he was underage. Can't charge the dead, of course, but the person who was with him should be charged according to Japanese law if indeed alcohol was involved. Then again, it doesn't say; it was 3:50 a.m. so maybe they were just being negligent because they didn't think a mini-van full of family would be on the road at that time.
kimuzukashiiiii
Ebisen - There is, in this article, nothing to suggest that they were or were not wearing seatbelts.