crime

2-year-old boy killed after being hit by truck in Kagawa; driver arrested

31 Comments

A two-year-old boy died after he was hit by a truck while crossing a highway in Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday night.

According to police, the incident occurred just after 8:30 p.m. on a straight stretch of a four-lane highway with no traffic lights. Sankei Shimbun reported that the boy, Kazuki Takagi, was hit by a heavy-duty truck driven by Seiji Iwamoto, 44, a company employee from Matsuyama City. Police arrested Iwamoto on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death.

Iwamoto was quoted by police as saying he stopped after hitting the boy but said he didn't see him crossing the road.

According to police, Kazuki was returning home alone from his grandparents' house which was just across the highway from his own home.

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31 Comments
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Jeez I actually feel quite sorry for this driver. I can't even imagine letting my almost 2 year old cross our street alone and it's about 2 meters wide with hardly any traffic.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

a 2 year old boy walking on a road at 8:30 at night alone..the poor driver would never have even seen him! ..... punish the parents and grandparents as well, they are more responsible than the driver. appalling parenting. RIP little boy

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Does any other nation have a law like this? You could paint yourself black and walk onto an expressway at night to kill yourself and they'd still arrest the driver. Absurd law. It's an absolute tragedy for the family but as sad as it is it's 100% on them.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I think in most countries if a pedestrian is hit and killed the driver will initially be arrested pending an investigation but not necessarily charged.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Something has to be done about these laws! Does anyone know, in these cases, can the driver (when released) or the driver's family sue the child's family for damages caused by their carelessness? In cases like this there has to be some legal responsibility on their part!

JR have no problem getting money out of families when family responsibility is far less, why shouldn't they be able to sue the child's family and win here? A good way to start chipping away at these stupid 'driver-always-guilty' laws, if nothing else.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I don't know about Japan but in England I got hit by a car when I was 11 and was hospitalized for 6 weeks. It was my fault , as I skated straight out into the road apparently (I don't remember anything past leaving my house, late to meet a friend) and the driver or drivers insurance company sued my parents for the damage to the car.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Kazuki [TWO YEARS OLD] was returning home alone [at 20:30] from his grandparents’ house which was just across the [FOUR-LANE] highway from his own home

Just when you think you cannot be any more shocked...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

It's hard to imagine that the two-year-old boy was crossing the highway alone. Let alone 8:30 at night, with no traffic lights. RIP.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Don't blame the driver, the parents should be put in jail for being stupid

1 ( +5 / -4 )

i am reading correct? 2 years old crossing a road alone? whatever if it's 1 or 2 or 3 lines, what the heck is wrong with parents? They should be charge and bot the driver!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

The grandparents should be locked up. THEY let him go alone. And for any of you "thumbs downers" to this post. Take a step back and try to think for a moment using any part of your brain not yet infected with the liberal mental disorder - "Is it honestly NOT blatant neglect to allow a 2 year old to go ANYWHERE - other than maybe the toilet - ALONE? Let alone across a FOUR lane HIGHWAY?

I don't care if the driver was faced timing his prostitute girlfriend with his iPhone super glued to his forehead and a quart of vodka in him – the grandparents still bear some of the blame. If you can't agree to that, I hope to God you do not have children now, and never do. (Mic drop)

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

i feel sorry for the driver that he should suffer guilt and even lose his job because of some irresponsible gannies. A 2 year old can not even go to the toilet alone, let alone cross a highway with no traffic lights and at night. Is there a way to sue the parents for the suffering they cause to the driver and his family?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

A two year old crossing a highway alone gets killed? They should be arresting the parents, not the driver! What in the heck is a two year old doing wandering around alone in the first place? Better less, crossing a highway.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The cops can slap the ankle irons on the parents as well while they are at it.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Most Japanese parents need to loose the idea that their child are little responsible adults. Who or what parent in their right mind would let their 2 YEAR OLD cross the road alone? AND at night too. A 2 year old is just that! A 2 year old! They don't yet have the mental capacity to know how to cross A 4 LANE HIGHWAY WITH NO LIGHTS let alone a one way road.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There is nothing in the article to say whether or not the parents/grandparents knew the kid had left the grandparents house to go home. It's possible the kid decided to go home without anyone realizing.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

There is nothing in the article to say whether or not the parents/grandparents knew the kid had left the grandparents house to go home.

As a parent, it's your responsibility to know the whereabouts of your child, and to take reasonable measures to stop him from wandering off outside. Doubly so if there's a blasted freeway passing your front door.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

As a parent, it's your responsibility to know the whereabouts of your child, and to take reasonable measures to stop him from wandering off outside.

Of course. But accidents happen. We don't live in a perfect world.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

NO parent in a right mind would allow a 2 year old child cross a highway at night all by himself.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

NO parent in a right mind would allow a 2 year old child cross a highway at night all by himself.

I agree, which is why I question whether or not the (grand)parents even knew.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Highways don't have pedestrian crossings for a reason. Details are lacking but I feel sorry for all involved here... a very sad situation.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I have a two year old and it goes without saying that he is not allowed anywhere near a street with traffic by himself.

That said, the way a lot of Japanese cities are laid out makes this kind of accident all too common. Go down any 4 lane highway in an urban area and you will see countless houses whose front doors literally open right up onto one, which was probably the case here. The closeness and lack of barriers between high speed traffic and residential property create huge safety issues for families with kids - take your eyes off them for a second and they are at risk.

My wife and I moved to the suburbs specifically to get out of that dangerous situation, but that was only possible because our situation allowed us to do so, not everyone is so lucky. If our kid makes a run for it (as they always do at that age), we now have a yard and a bit of a safety barrier (no through traffic on our street) to catch him before he gets into danger (and teach him not to do so, which takes a bit of time at that age since language and cognition is still in its early phase of development). People in the city don't have that luxury and grandparents can't catch speedy kids.

Obviously they should have taken measures to prevent this, but I can't join the chorus pouring scorn on them after such a tragedy.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"I question whether or not the (grand)parents even knew"

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

https://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/documentary-looks-at-why-japanese-parents-let-young-kids-walk-to-school-by-themselves

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

Meanwhile back in the real world you just compared an apple to an orange.

Another useless post by you.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"I question whether or not the (grand)parents even knew"

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

"'Kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo,' or 'Send the beloved child on a journey.' This saying, which holds that children should learn to take on challenges and difficulties from an early stage in life, alludes to the fact that Japanese children are typically socialized into becoming independent and taking care of themselves at a younger age than are many children in Western countries"

https://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/documentary-looks-at-why-japanese-parents-let-young-kids-walk-to-school-by-themselves

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Meanwhile, back in the real world, that has never applied to 2 year olds by anyone, anywhere, ever.

Another useless post by you.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

What is a two year old doing crossing ANY road at all by himself? I don't get it. Am I reading this right? I feel sorry that the parents lost their two year old for being stupid, but that is just what it is. STUPID! The parents have been punished, but don't punish the driver because there was no pedestrian crossing at all and the boy should not have been out at night by himself.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Of course. But accidents happen. We don't live in a perfect world.

Accidents? Perfect world? Nah, we live in a world of irresponsible twits that let two year olds wander across highways at night by themselves. Yeah, perfect!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I'm so sorry little guy, WTF is wrong with your parents?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

"It's possible the kid decided to go home without anyone realizing."

Even if that is the case, it's pretty negligent of the grandparents to not be keeping an eye on their 2-year-old grandchild. Accidents happen, especially when you let them.

Sorry, but a two-year-old boy crossing a four-lane highway with no traffic lights at 8:30 p.m. is ENTIRELY the fault of the family, but now the driver's life will be ruined as well, and he'll be charged for something that was out of his control.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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