Police in Hadano, Kanagawa prefecture, have arrested an 18-year-old man on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death after a woman passenger in the light car he was driving was killed in a crash with another car.
According to police, the 18-year-old, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was driving drunk at the time of the accident which occurred at a T-junction at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Fuji TV reported.
Police said there were two women and one man in the car with the 18-year-old driver. One of the women, aged 17, sitting in the back seat, was killed in the crash and the other two passengers, also minors, suffered light injuries. The 42-year-old man driving the other car was uninjured.
The 18-year-old man continued driving for about one kilometer after the crash before stopping, police said, adding that he told them he went through a red light at the T-junction.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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Gaijindesu
Sad news. Was the woman wearing a seat belt? Probably thrown out of the vehicle as the others weren't hurt too badly.
And what's with calling them 'men' and 'women', and also minors?
PhantomAgent
Another gravely irresponsible act on the roads. Did not stop immediately to seek assistance for those injured in the crash.
Bububu3
Good!
Yubaru
I sincerely hope that this gets changed and soon! If a person is considered "adult" enough to vote at 18 they shouled never be considered a minor!
What burns even more is that many times these underage drivers who get caught for drunk driving, do not face the same penalities, 500,000円 or 1,000,000円 fines BECAUSE they are underage. They are handled by family court, which decides on their penalty. They are considered to not be able to pay the fine, BUT on occasion, the parents are forced to pay the fines instead.
Screw that, they have to follow the same rules, let them face the same penalties!
tmarie
Why are they called "men" and "women" when by law they are minors? Why not call them "youths" instead.
No doubt the girl wasn't wearing a seatbelt and knew her friend had been drinking. A silly thing to do and certainly not worth the death sentence she was given.
Throw the book at all of them. Underage drinking, driving under the influence...
I'm happy the driver of the other car was not injured. I have very little sympathy for anyone who drinks and drives and anyone who allows it to happen or encourages it by getting into a car with someone under the influence. A horrible life lesson these youths have learned.
Yubaru
And you are a better person than I am! I have zero sympathy! I sympathize with the victims and their families. I do not care the age, you drink, you drive, you kill someone, YOU should lose your right to freedom.
No one forces a person to drink, no one forces a person to drive, intent or not, it's murder!
smithinjapan
Wow... so he was drunk driving and killed a person, injured others, and he might not even get any punishment because the 'man' is a minor??
Joseph.i
Brainiac ..... Tell that to the dead girls family. Imagine it was one of your own? Under aged drinking and driving is PREMEDITATED.
lucabrasi
I reside in Japan. I'm sure laws are different elsewhere, but they aren't relevant in this case.
lucabrasi
He wouldn't be charged with murder if he were an adult, so his age is irrelevant.
Opinions are as irrelevant as foreign laws.
smartacus
No, Yubaru, it is not murder. It is negligent driving resulting in death. Unless, of course, you have evidence that it was premeditated.
dharmadan
Wow, he carried on driving for 1km with a dead or dying girl in the back of his shattered car and his friends injured? What a giant scumbag
Scrote
He should be charged as an adult and sent to jail for a sufficient number of years.
Stewart Gale
How is the 17 year old a woman and the 18 year old a minor?
Mirai Hayashi
If he is old enough to drive, he's old enough to be named.
sensei258
Is he a man or a minor?
Strangerland
I think you mean intentional.
Yubaru
Yubaru
I know they dont apply here, and like I wrote, my opinion, it's murder, all the same.
He is lucky he is considered a minor and not an adult.
Yubaru
I take it this is your opinion here. Never said he would be charged with murder, you asssumed I thought as much, Also I never suggested foreign laws apply here either, you again wrongly asssumed otherwise.
He very well could be given the severity of the crime committed and he faces I believe 15 years in prison if convicted as an adult.
lucabrasi
@Yubaru
"... intent or not, it's murder!"
Then you don't understand the definition of "murder".