Car collides with mini-van in Ibaraki; three dead, five injured

Friday 05th December, 09:48 AM JST

IBARAKI —

Three people died and five were injured when a car collided with a mini-van in Inashiki City on Thursday. Police said the van, used as a shuttle bus by a welfare facility for the aged in Inashiki City, was dropping people back home after they took part in a handicrafts class.

According to police, the car hit the van at the intersection around 4 p.m. The van rolled onto its side, throwing two of its occupants out of the vehicle. Two women in their 80s and one woman in her 70s died, and the other three people in the van were also injured. The female driver of the car, 27, and her 6-year-old son suffered minor injuries.

The single lane intersection in the middle of rice fields has no traffic lights but there is a stop sign on the side where the van came from.

Kyodo

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9 Comments

thepro at 10:07 AM JST - 5th December

Not wearing seatbelts I imagine, if they were thrown out of the van.
Proffessor at 11:08 AM JST - 5th December

Just can't figure this out. The view is pretty much clear in the rice fields.
flammenwerfer at 11:19 AM JST - 5th December

there was a stop sign. From my experience, stop signs are optional and one could conclude that the Van driver failed to stop and the car driver was was caught out in thinking the van driver would do so.
smithinjapan at 11:44 AM JST - 5th December

Sounds like yet another case of the 'seat-belts must be worn from now on... even in the backseat' law being ignored.
bamboohat at 11:46 AM JST - 5th December

Either Japanese people have the best peripheral vision in the world, or they just have "i don't care" tunnel vision. I rarely see people on bikes, walking, driving even move thier heads to check on either side of them. Even when they are in a car and there are pedestrians around. I just don't get it. Shame these people died the way they did. I hope they did not suffer at all, and I hope the injured will recover fully.

Is it too much to ask to wear your seatbelt, and look left and right quickly EVERYTIME you go through an intersection? It's really really, not that much extra effort. The political will and the funding and "talent" required to push this concept into the public consciosness really wouldn't be all THAT much, would it?
meanmutha at 12:13 PM JST - 5th December

ditto bamboohat
nutsagain at 01:30 PM JST - 5th December

bamboohat: You're absolutely right. Make a mental note next time you're riding a bicycle of how many times a driver turning into the direction of the traffic flow, takes the time to look the opposite way. They just don't do it. Driving and cellphone usage are normal here. Getting caught is just bad luck. This is the only country in the world (and I have seen all of these) where people can drive, talk on the phone, shave, read comic books. Maybe two or three at the same time. All four in a day. Just ludicrous and where are the Keystones? Busying themselves with bicycle theft, that's what.
franz75 at 02:34 PM JST - 5th December

nutsagain: you forgot about kids jumping on front seat.
TokyoXtreme at 06:22 PM JST - 5th December

I wish this forum was like other forums where you are able to upvote messages that ring especially true... because nutsagain has totally nailed this issue. Bamboohat also gets points.