WAKAYAMA —

A 5-year-old boy died after being hit by a train at a rail crossing in Wakayama on Tuesday afternoon. Police said the accident happened about 4 p.m. when the boy was walking with his mother near the tracks. The mother told police she didn’t notice that her son had wandered away from her.

Police said the boy apparently walked under the gates at the crossing. The driver of the oncoming train told police he saw the boy and applied the emergency brake, but it was too late. The boy was taken to hospital where he died shortly after 6 p.m.

9 Comments

• 

  outofmydepth at 07:32 PM JST - 29th April

  again, lets ask. where was the mother. i know she was apparently near the kid but she was not holding onto the 5-YEAR-OLDs hand near a DANGEROUS place. when will these parents learn!!!!! i saw an ambulance today taking away a kid with his scared mama looking on. dont know what happened there but ill bet dollars to donuts that he "wandered off........"

• 

  PostOfReason at 09:38 PM JST - 29th April

  I hope the little tyke is resting peacefully. Always sad to read about the senseless death of a child. Parents everywhere need to be more diligent when out and about with kids. It is easier than we may think for a tragedy like this to happen without proper supervision - kids are curious by nature and do not know of the dangers around them - all the more reason for us all to be more attentive when around children. I am not going to say that parents in Japan are any worse than parents elsewhere, there are heart-wrenching stories like this all over. But I will say that I think young parents here may have had a free run of things when they were younger and without good parenting when they were kids it is difficult for them to know what constitutes good parenting themselves. I have several Japanese friends with young children and they are all caring and focused parents with more than their share of common-sense when it comes to taking care of their children.

• 

  rjd_jr at 09:53 PM JST - 29th April

  Sad for the child, I don't mean to prejudge but sometimes they treat children as little more than pets or objects. Parents really need to keep an eye on their children at all times. Rest in peace child.

• 

  KitsuneYoukai at 10:23 PM JST - 29th April

  It is a sad story but I believe these posts are very prejudicial. It's always where are the parents? when things like this and even worse negligence happens all over the world. I'm sure this mother is feeling the pain of losing a child and will undoubtedly wonder about "what she could have done differently." Let's give the woman some compassion.

• 

  Ah_so at 12:02 AM JST - 30th April

  Let's give the woman some compassion

  Well said. I cannot understand how this could have happened, but that very same mother would probably have said the same if it had been her reading this story about a different mother and child. No parent is perfect all of the time and all suffer from lapses of concentration and judgement. The challenge of holding a 5-year-old boy's hand non-stop is one that few would win.

  "outofmydepth" - I suspect you are.

  Most of those who claim that they could never let this happen are either not being totally honest with themselves or are bringing up over-protected kids.

• 

  Ivespoken at 12:32 AM JST - 30th April

  ****Poor lady, I bet she's devastated!!

• 

  eiver at 02:17 AM JST - 30th April

  The mother told police she didn’t notice that her son had wandered away from her.

  well i can sympathize with the mother for the lost of her child. but, really, its her fault. first of all, she should've not walked near the tracks if there is an oncoming train. second, she should've gotten a strong grip on the hand of her child especially that danger can be foreseen here. awareness really counts.

• 

  outofmydepth at 05:45 AM JST - 30th April

  to ah so - my point exactly. there is so much that is not in our control so that when we CAN do something to control the situation - for example, training the child to hold on to mama or papas hand near train tracks, in parking lots, etc. too many parents today are too busy on their cell phones or whatever. i see it all the time. yes, i did hold on to my 5 year olds hand and taught him to use seat belts, a helmet when he`s riding his bike to look both ways.

• 

  gamecat at 12:44 AM JST - 3rd May

  A massive self-pwn if the mother was there, and an even more massive pwn if she wasn't. If she had her sh-t together, this wouldn't have happened. Winge all you like, but you have seen how they flail around with zero self-awareness.

  I feel very bad for the kid. It is a tragedy for a little one to die like this. I hope he is in a comfy happy place now. I am sure he is.

Register or login to add a comment!