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Forty-seven people were injured when a tour bus and a dump truck collided head-on in Nanbu, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Monday morning.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 9:40 a.m. National Route 52. Sankei reported that the bus driver was seriously injured and was airlifted to hospital. Forty-five passengers and a tour guide were taken to hospital to be treated for light injuries. The 48-year-old truck driver was not injured.
The bus was on its way from Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, to Nagano Prefecture after a Mother's Day tour.
Police said the dump truck apparently went over the center line and are questioning the driver about the circumstances leading up to the accident.
© Japan Today
5 Comments
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Disillusioned
So, let's speculate, shall we? Texting on his mobile phone? Reading the newspaper? Sleeping? Eating cup noodles? I have frequently seen truck drivers doing all of these things while driving. They are very dexterous multi-taskers.
sangetsu03
And since the bus driver may not have tried to brake or avoid the dump truck, Japanese justice might make him and the bus company partly financially responsible for damages from the accident, like the recent "wrong way" driver ruling. 47 people can now sue both the dump truck driver and the bus driver.
zurcronium
Probably smoking while driving.
ClippetyClop
I'm done with truckers, they are a law unto themselves in Yamanashi. The roads around Fuji are littered with their trash and pet bottles full of urine, which they just wing out of the window. I reported one I saw throwing out a cigarette packet to his company last summer. He had to come back to town the following weekend and pick up roadside garbage for 2 hours in the presence of a town official. A drop in the ocean, but I'd encourage everyone to do the same.
Danny Bloom
Clippetyclop! Good for you! Bravo