61-year-old woman suffers fractured skull after being hit by cyclist

Tuesday 11th November, 10:26 AM JST

IBARAKI —

A man riding his bicycle home collided with a 61-year-old woman walking along a highway late on Monday night, leaving her with a fractured skull. A passer-by called police just after midnight and told them that the woman, Yukiko Sato, a resident of Toride City, was bleeding and not responding. The man had left the scene.

Police learned that the man, 37, had broken his cheekbone and was in hospital, and are waiting for both of them to recover before questioning them.

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Latest 15 of 25 Total Comments Show All

dammit at 01:59 PM JST - 11th November

Anyway, head injuries are weird things, it's entirely possible that she got up and told the man she was all right and made him go away. Then after he'd gone she could have just collapsed. Head injuries are totally unpredictable and can cause strange symptoms. OR he could have just hit her and run off. Or cycled off rather. But there's reasonable doubt about that right now.

Hope the poor woman makes a full recovery, she's probably got a good decade or 2 (or 3) ahead of her, all being well.
JeffLee at 02:06 PM JST - 11th November

The woman may be in the wrong. She was "walking along a highway," which sounds highly dangerous and illegal, especially at night.
taiko666 at 02:22 PM JST - 11th November

JeffLee: again, "highway" simply means a public road.

I think JT needs to supply a 'real English' to 'US English' glossary :-)
Nessie at 02:32 PM JST - 11th November

JeffLee: again, "highway" simply means a public road.

In the context of this article, "highway" would mean a road at least as large and heavily trafficked as a trunk road, but not as large as an expressway. Expressways are access-controlled, so cyclists and pedestrians are not permitted on them. I believe it is legal to cycle and walk on highways in Japan.
frontandcentre at 02:54 PM JST - 11th November

mindovermatter - I call it a hit-and-run. We don't know the circumstances but I personally doubt that the woman threw herself in front of the speeding cyclist. Chances are, he was drunk and didn't see her, and just because it was late at night doesn't make her any more at fault.

Generally people's behaviour on bikes in Japan, and lack of consideration for pedestrians, is profoundly ignorant. Deliberately endangering yourself and ther people by wearing an i-pod while cycling is the latest trend in stupidity. It's simply daft to disable one of your vital senses when on busy roads or on pavements with pedestrians and kids that you are obliged to steer clear of. The police should arrest cyclists wearing i-pods and those young w**kers who swerve rapidly around people when on the pavement.
ptolemy at 03:44 PM JST - 11th November

Perhaps the guy was stressed, tried of life and looking for someone to hurt. It will not suprise me if the perp of this hit and run says that if they are found. I hope the lady recovers.
fatloser at 03:54 PM JST - 11th November

I don't know that anyone was drunk. I'm just mak'n an edukated guess!!

Moderator: Please use correct English.
Nessie at 04:10 PM JST - 11th November

If anyone calls me a 'little old lady' when I'm 61 I'll be sorely tempted to slap 'em hard up the back of the head

Careful what you wish for Cleo: You might get called "big old lady," instead. (Slapping ensues.)
Kameleon at 05:39 PM JST - 11th November

Further proof of idiocy:

Mother, three kids on bike, talking on her mobile phone while riding...

And the police stop a consenting adult from sitting on the back of a bike...

Mad. An adult knows how to break a fall, a child will just fall & break their head, or get their foot caught in the spokes or... How the police can allow mothers to get away with that, and not allow adults (which is far safer) is beyond me.
elbudamexicano at 06:26 PM JST - 11th November

Most Japanese, when it comes to riding bicycles, etc..are complete morons. I have never seen so many idiots enjoying their walkmans, ipods etc...while riding around at break neck speeds! I think the police need to start catching and fining wreckless idiots on bicycles. This poor old lady now has a fractured skull, but she could have easily been killed or left a paraplygic. Let's be more careful, gaijins too!
fatloser at 07:54 PM JST - 11th November

Of course the old woman could have caused the accident also. Maybe the cyclist was riding safely when the ow swarmed him.
DeepAir65 at 08:37 PM JST - 11th November

The only thing that surprises me here is that you do not hear about it every day.

I saw a very lucky cyclist the other day almost hit by a taxi. If the taxi had hit him i would have stopped and given evidence in the taxi drivers favour - it was dark and the cyclist was wearing black with no lights and crossing the road from the pavement.

No bets that this accident happened a country road with no lights and the cyclist had no lights so did not see the lady.
nisegaijin at 09:43 AM JST - 12th November

I cycle to work every day and I have to say that this country is not designed for this. I am not talking about steep hills, but I am talkinb about narrow lanes and side walks. There is literally nowhere to go! You go on the road, there will be some taxi moron trying to squeeze you to side rail or stopping in front of you. You go on sidewalk, everybody is just popping out of nowhere or just walks diagonally. I am experienced car driver, so I am trying to read the situation, but this is frigging frustrating!
mindovermatter at 10:13 AM JST - 12th November

The police should arrest cyclists wearing i-pods and those young w**kers who swerve rapidly around people when on the pavement.

Ok... Well we're at it... why don't we arrest all people that accidentally bump into you in a crowded train station..? And how about the people wearing ipod's typing keitai mails while they're walking...? They could accidentally bump into an elderly person and cause them to fall down... (I've seen this... just watch people running to catch a morning train or get to their office....)

You see... this is where civilized countries draw the line..

It's called common sense...

The idea behind many laws is to either encourage or discourage a certain type of behavior...

Let's just have everyone just go out and buy a car and drive to work.. Then this lady would never have been hit by the guy on the bike.... Ridiculous....
Scrote at 03:58 AM JST - 13th November

There are lots of idiots on bikes, but the pedestrians are often no better. I often see people walking in the road, even when there is a pavement they could use. They are not crossing the road, but choosing to walk along it, sometimes far from the side. They are like unthinking drones.