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A 71-year-old man who beat his 74-year-old ex-wife on Sunday morning and then fled their home in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, died after being hit by a police patrol car on an expressway.
Fuji TV reported that police received a call at around 4 a.m. from the 46-year-old daughter of Katsuharu Oda, saying he was beating her mother with a hammer-like object. Although the couple had divorced, they were still living in the same house.
When police arrived at the scene 10 minutes later, they found Oda's wife and the daughter bleeding from head injuries. They were taken to hospital where they are in a stable condition.
According to police, Oda fled in a car before they arrived. About 10 minutes later, a police car on patrol ran over him as he was lying on the Tomei Expressway about 1.5 kilometers from his home. He was taken to hospital where he died about an hour later.
The officer driving the patrol car said he suddenly saw a body lying on the expressway as he came around a bend but was unable to stop in time.
Police said Oda, who was a carpenter, left a note in his car by the side of the expressway, saying he was going to die, too.
© Japan Today
20 Comments
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TrevorPeace
Well, he did. Die. And for what? Thank God his wife and daughter survived. At least so far. Fingers crossed they get over it.
Yubaru
Just a tiny part of the problem one would think.
Now the car that did this should be taken a part and sold for scrap. Cars should never be killing people!
The driver of the cop car is one lucky dude. If it was anywhere else besides the expressway that he hit this guy the driver would be up guano creek. Justice served.
borscht
An expressway curve so tight a policeman can't see far enough ahead to see a body in the road? Possible, especially in the dark. But also possible if the policeman were going too fast for conditions, which I doubt because police never seem to break the speed limit. All in all, what a way to commit suicide.
I hope the mother and daughter recover physically and emotionally.
smartacus
Living in the same house with ex-spouse must be an awkward arrangement.
zones2surf
Ugghhh. A boy killing his grandparents. And then this. There are some days when you really wish you hadn't read the news headlines. And during the holiday season as well. Ugghhh.
khulifi
Good end ..
trinklets2
When I was divorced and me and my ex together with our son lived together for 2 months, I was always praying every night that I'd get to wake up whole and alive. I just couldn't forget the look in his eyes and I was worried for me and my son's lives. But what could we do? Back then I was jobless and he had no place to go just yet. Definitely not a very good idea. And the word taihen sasete ageru made me shivered then. May they find peace and happiness in the afterlife! RIP.
Danny Bloom
@trinklets, some say there is no afterlife. just birth and,death. like the birds and the bees. but whatever, this family tragedy is a sad tragedy.
DaDude
They ain't dead yet.
Tony Alderman
Good news.
Hasan Az-Zaki Rahim
Yeah. He died. It's lucky that his daughter & ex-wife survived.
karlrb
Simply a sad story that will probably continue to haunt the two ladies forever.
Conspiracy Theories
Out of the many vehicles on the expressway, what are the odds of a police car running over someone that just committed a crime. Poetic justice?
Kapuna
Karma!
Danny Bloom
justice of the peace, er, poetic...
Kabukilover
This is so horridly sad.
TheTiger
Karma!
Stewart Gale
No great loss.
nath
KARMA is a b!tch!!
lololol
Kittychosen
@trinklets2
I sympathise with you completely as I am in a similar situation. It is not always possible/practival to find an immediate solution.
Very selfish & cowardly of the husband to make another be the cause of his death.