3-year-old boy dies after being hit by truck; driver arrested

I live in Adachi, and see a lot of delivery scooters and commercial trucks going too fast in the narrow side streets here. But the residents are just as bad with their cars. I drive at a crawl, whether in the car or on the motorcycle. Hate to think what would happen to me, as a foreigner, if I were to be involved in such an accident. Even if it were with one of the supersonic "gakicharis" (as I call them) that whiz through the neighborhood after school has let out.

RIP poor kid. You didn't deserve this.

Amen.

"From what I see every day, it's pretty safe to conclude the truck was traveling at excessive speed on a narrow back street trying to beat traffic on the main roads." Such truck drivers are like bullies.

A 3-year old should never be left unattended, especially outside on any street. You cannot just start asking why the driver was there. It is a tragedy and if he were left unattended, it is the guardian's fault. Once, a young child around the same age came out from a hidden parking lot and right into a narrow but very busy side street I was driving on. I missed hitting him by the narrowest of margins. I really wanted to stop and find his guardians and scream at them. I was really shaken. On a somewhat related note, I see parents in close proximity to, and within earshot of their kids, and the kids in potentially harmful situations, with the parents paying no mind to what is going on. Several times I have had to say something to the kids and the parents just look at me like I am crazy or rude. People in Japan sometimes think that Japan is just so safe that nothing will ever happen to them. I am not one of those people and always have to strongly urge my wife to be as vgilant as possible when on the street.

A three year old child that has access to a street to ride a bicycle where there are motorized vehicles tells the whole story.

@ since 1981 - I'll tell you why, the child was unsupervised because the mother thought her housework or her iPhone was more important

There's a lot missing in this story. A lot of questions arose.

Another reason I chose not to bring up my son in Japan - nowhere safe to play

that's quite a comment. and that's what many of us say about many western/Asian/African countries... not safe. I still think it's much safER here.

Why in the h*** was a 3 (THREE) year old riding a bicycle in an area where vehicles drive fast enough to not stop in time.

Another reason I chose not to bring up my son in Japan - nowhere safe to play, narrow streets with nop sidewalks and careless drivers.

Many roads in Japan are super narrow with tons of blind spots, houses built right next to the road, walls blocking the view, etc. That's how I got hit (and run) while riding my bicycle (twice).

A three year old boy out riding his bicycle. From a cultural perspective that permits 24 year old's to stay on their parents health insurance, and where parents that allow children to play unsupervised in their own yard face neglect charges and possible termination of custody; a kid three years alone and out on a bike seems very questionable. In fact, the concept of letting one's grade school kid take a train to school is the stuff of which nightmares are made.

no,it one of the tiny streets where a driver has no business going over 10mph... dont blaim the family or the kid.. hang the driver for example!

If he rode is bike into the street at just the wrong moment, there's not a thing the driver could have done.

The driver said ' I wasn't looking in front very carefully, I didn't see the child'. Another one on his phone?

If a three-year-old was riding on the street, the parents should bear much of the responsiblity for letting the poor kid out on the road. They should either have closed the gate or if there were no gate, built a baricade with rope, wood, old car tyres or something and then kept an eye on him.

I swear a good % of commenters on here would pay admission to public hangings. At the very least, seek out some organized rally. Perhaps we could call it a Two Minutes Hate?

excessive speed 100% , speed limit is very slow on these side streets so he should have been able to stop driving correctly. 68 years old + speeding + truck is bad combination, hopefully he is made example and convicted of murder + capital punishment.

I agree that speeding in residential areas is a huge problem. I see it at my inlaws place which is on a shortcut to a supermarket complex built ten years ago.

As a parent with children in that situation, you have to be super alert all the time. I don't know what happened in this case, and certainly three year olds need to be watched, but it would be easier if measures were taken to slow the traffic down.

From what I see every day, it's pretty safe to conclude the truck was traveling at excessive speed on a narrow back street trying to beat traffic on the main roads. Also, from what I see every day, it's pretty safe to conclude the kid was not wearing a helmet, even though it is law for under 13 year olds to do so.

I used to live on a narrow road and have been clipped by trucks three times as they were barreling along recklessly at excessive speeds to get to the green light. There were two deaths on the same stretch of street in the three years I lived there. An elementary school student pedestrian and an elderly lady on a bicycle. Do you know what the authorities did about it? Not a flipping thing! It's too much to expect the cops to patrol every back street used for 'rat runners'. However, it is not too much to expect to have speed bumps put in place to slow them down and to block off certain routes to stop the rat runners - like they do in 'modern' countries.

the boy came out of garage to the street, the driver couldn't have guessed a child would suddenly appear

And, that is exactly why the speed limit on these narrow streets is 20kph, so you can stop on a dime. As I stated above, something has to be done to slow these drivers down on narrow streets. There is a street near my current residence that is a kind of main road although, it is only 3.5-4m wide. Cars fly along this road at speeds of 40kph+. Quite a few times I've been driving on this road and had some maniac come flying around the corner in front of me. The road is barely wide enough for two cars to pass and only in certain spots. Oh, I didn't mention there is also a popular park on this same street. Meanwhile, there is a cop at the supermarket three or four times a week checking bicycle registrations. Big smiles!

but then again it doesn't say it's a small road. Kids this age on bikes weave left and right with little or no sense of space around them. He could have well veered right in front of the truck, or turned onto the road to cross. We have no idea what happened here except that a child died

this street is 3.7m wide according to J news. I saw the video and it looks like a quite residential neighborhood.. radio said that the boy came out of garage to the street, the driver couldn't have guessed a child would suddenly appear. but then again, if the truck was going slow.. perhaps this could have been avoided.. or if an adult was there to make sure the road was clear before the boy came out.. but I know, all these should have, could have, doesn't work all the time.

Not enough info. A two tonne truck should not be driving on small roads, but then again it doesn't say it's a small road. Kids this age on bikes weave left and right with little or no sense of space around them. He could have well veered right in front of the truck, or turned onto the road to cross. We have no idea what happened here except that a child died. RIP.

Unfortunately see people driving too quickly down the little side streets, the worst culprits are the delivery scooter riders but the smallish delivery trucks can be pretty bad too. If the kid just darted out it's really rough on the driver but the police will establish what speed he was doing. Be sure to drive slowly and diligently down those little streets and if you have a child make sure they wear a helmet whilst riding a bicycle, no matter where they are.

Constantly read about drivers being held responsible for such things. Never enough details to conclude what really happened. I see a lot of horrible driving, I see a lot of parents not paying attention to their kids or kids just out alone. I fear parking lots and parks when driving due to the laws here and who is held responsible.

RIP poor kid. You didn't deserve this.

was the boy riding his bike alone on a busy road?

this happened right in front of the boy's house. he came out of the garage and then got hit. the street is very quiet and small that a 2 ton truck could barely fit to go thru.. I wonder why the truck driver chose to drive that particular street.. And yes, the boy was alone.

News like this does not include the whereabouts of the parents, where we all know there's a big impact whether was this incident a complete fault of the driver or failure to the parents by not keeping an eye on their child.

Not enough info to say anything other than it is a tragedy.

was the boy riding his bike alone on a busy road? if so, the parents need to be held responsible too.