A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of reckless driving resulting in injury after the car he was driving hit three elementary school students Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday. The driver, Yu Okajima, kept going but was arrested shortly afterwards.
According to police, the three students were heading to class at around 8:30 a.m. when they were hit by the car as they were cross an intersection, Fuji TV reported. The children were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A motorcyclist, who was waiting at the same traffic light, pursued the vehicle and notified a nearby police officer. Police arrested Okajima s short distance away.
Police said Okajima has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying, “I was just staring at the traffic light and not paying attention. When I hit the children, I suddenly panicked and drove away.”
Police said Okajima was driving under the influence of alcohol.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Middleoftheroad
At 8:30 a.m. on a weekday, not that it is OK at anytime, but at 29, you think he would have known better! I know, I should know better than to think that he should have known better!
clamenza
Drunk at 8:30 am on a Wednesday. Tells us all we need to know about this moron.
Still, he'll be back behind the wheel in no time.
lomae
Not defending him at all, but it's possible he still had alcohol in his blood from the night before rather than drinking at 8am.
smithinjapan
Slap on the wrist and nothing more.
domtoidi
Slap on the wrist? People who live in and know even a little about Japan know that isn't true at all.
toshiko
@middle: I agree with you.
toshiko
Drunk testing use breath. It does not use blood test.
WA4TKG
I want to hear a cop say: " I was just STARING at my pistol, and it discharged" (while pointing at the scumbag that ran over the kids, of course).
forgetaboutit
he will get jail time and lose drivers license forever
Fouxdefa
Good on the "bystander" motorcyclist who pursued and apparently got the vehicle info to the police. Hit and runs make me angry. Yeah sometimes through negligence or stupidity you harm someone without meaning to, but it takes real lowness to not own it. It stops being accidental the moment you try to run off.