crime

75-year-old man arrested for hit-and-run involving 3 schoolchildren

21 Comments

Police said Wednesday they have arrested a 75-year-old man in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, over a hit-and-run incident in which three elementary school children were run down by a van as they were walking home from school.

Police received a report from a member of the public that three children were lying on the ground, two crying and one unconscious, around 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, NTV reported. According to police, the driver, who has been named as Shinobu Takeuchi, was apprehended after marks on his van were found to match the description of the incident.

According to police, Takeuchi has partially confessed to running over the boys and has been charged with accidental infliction of injury.

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21 Comments
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Accidental infliction of injury?! Sounds more like felony hit and run! He should get jail time, but because of his age, all he'll get is a polite request not to do it again.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

His "partially confession" was I thought I hit something but I did not think it was the three kids lying in the road so I kept driving.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It really bothers me why Japan has no posted speed limits on small roads and small alleys, school zone and the likes?

For example, there is a small alley near my workplace and while it is a 2 way street, you can't barely fit 2 small cars but trucks are running at full speed without any fear of hitting somebody. Japanese drivers are so reckless and most of them step on the gas even it is so dangerous for all party involved.

2 ( +3 / -2 )

Sounds more like felony hit and run!

EXACTLY!! What is wrong with the fricken justice system???...seems like the laws always favor the perpetrators rather than the victims!!!

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Couple questions.

Does anyone know the current status of the children? I hope they are alive and doing better.

Does Japan have any laws in place for elderly drivers? Say retesting at a certain age to ensure they are fit to drive.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Bad drivers come in all ages. Some of the worst are the new young ones.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Does Japan have any laws in place for elderly drivers? Say retesting at a certain age to ensure they are fit to drive.

No, but they definitely should. So many accidents involving older people who can't even differentiate between the accelerator and brakes. People over the age of 70 should be tested EVERY YEAR!

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

@slumdog

I couldn't have said it better !

Does Japan have any laws in place for elderly drivers? Say retesting at a certain age to ensure they are fit to drive

Yes, they do. From 70 years old upwards, one must go back to a driving school for a "refresher course".

3 ( +3 / -1 )

I am starting to think cars need to be regulated the same way handguns are.

There seriously needs to be far fewer of them on the roads, especially in dense urban areas.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

At least his family did the right thing and called the police.

One of the boys is in a critical conditon and has not regained consciousness. I hope he will pull through, poor kid.

4 ( +3 / -0 )

Yes, there sure seems to be a reckless disregard for safety when a lot of Japanese people get behind the wheel. The little street I live on is a major route for school kids to walk. It is a one way and actually has some speed bumbs but that does not stop people from gunning it from one speed bump to the next. It boggles the mind. And as far as I can tell, stop signs have no meaning whatsoever in this country. Everyone just rolls right on through. You take your life in your hands sometimes when crossing the street. And having recently moved from Tohoku to Kansai, the disregard in Kansai seems much worse.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

According police, Takeuchi has partially confessed to running over the boys.

Why does the story say hit and run. Did he hit the children and continue on? Did he stop a short time later and call police? It stated in the short article that citizens called police to report hurt children on the ground.

I have props for Japantoday as they have the best translation of current Japanese news available on the web. This article was either translated incorrectly and will be fixed or it had incorrect facts at the time of publication. My prayers are with the victims of the accident.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I love driving to work in the morning. When I get to a narrow street, I slow right down and drive down the center to avoid hitting any kids. The cars behind me can't pass, and try as they might, tailgating doesn't speed me up. I only wish that more people would slow down and make it hard for the idiots to pass when kids are around.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Kevin, he drove home but when his family saw the appeal on TV and the marks on his truck, they contacted the Police. They came round to check the marks and subsequently charged him with 轢き逃げhiki-nige, or hit and run.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I saw the news footage on television, and he hit the kids on a narrow bridge crossing. It's barely enough room for two vehicles to pass each other on that thing. There is no sidewalk, nothing but a small painted path provided on the each side of the bridge. It looks very dangerous for anyone to walk across it, especially small children. When I saw the police investigators on the scene, it looked similar to that accident back in Kyoto with all the kid's book-bags and belongings still on the road. It looked horrible.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I saw the news footage on television, and he hit the kids on a narrow bridge crossing. It's barely enough room for two vehicles to pass each other on that thing. There is no sidewalk, nothing but a small painted path provided on the each side of the bridge. It looks very dangerous for anyone to walk across it, especially small children. When I saw the police investigators on the scene, it looked similar to that accident back in Kyoto with all the kid's book-bags and belongings still on the road. It looked horrible.

That provides a lot of mitigating information. I declare the city to be at fault for making pedestrians walk across such a narrow two-way bridge. There should be an accompanying footbridge separate from the vehicular bridge.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

People over the age of 70 should be tested EVERY YEAR!

I agree. Too many dangerous aging drivers around. Just next to where I work a 70 something driver mashed up a pedestrian walking on the pavement when they hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

People over the age of 70 should be tested EVERY YEAR!

Not to beat a dead horse too often, but according to the "Analysis of Accidents by Older Drivers in Japan" (<www.css.risk.tsukuba.ac.jp/kashin/papers/5/IPC13-sekine.pdf>) most accidents in Japan are caused by young (16-24 years) people. About 2000 per 100,000 license holders vs old (65 or more years) which is half that. Therefore, given your logic, young people should be tested every year.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

People drive to threaten pedestrians here all the time. Then you see them get out of their cars and they are total losers hiding behind a death machine.

Gambare kids.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Making footpaths in Japan would be a good and logical thing to do so we dont have to walk on THE ROAD! The Gov should be held responsible as well.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

More properly made, unobstructed footpaths, and more electrical poles and other stuff should be underground. I think we need more regular vision, reflex and hearing tests for drivers over 70 (in all countries!).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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