5-year-old boy hit, killed by car; driver arrested

A five year old kid, walking home alone at dusk, crossing the street where there are no lights and the crossing lines have been rubbed away and not kept up. I have no doubt the woman did not see the boy, and this is an all-around tragedy.

The crossing where the accident occurred has no lights and the white crossing marks have almost worn away.

But, I'll bet there was a Crossing sign there. The vast majority of Japanese drivers totally ignore pedestrian crossings, even with people on them. I cannot count the amount of times I've had a car swerve around me while I was on the crossing. Taxis are especially bad. I've also been abused by other drivers for stopping at crossings. I had one incident where I had stopped at a crossing and the car behind me swerved around my car and sped through crossing narrowly missing the children on the crossing. I've lived and been driving in Japan for many years and it's always been the same. In fact, it's probably getting worse. I agree a five year old 'probably' should not have been wandering around alone in the early evening, but with the reckless driving habit of ignoring pedestrian crossings these kinds of incidents are inevitable.

Quite: "The crossing where the accident occurred has no lights and the white crossing marks have almost worn away."

That exactly describes my crossing that I must use to get to my car park even day. I is a symbol of police indifference and Japanese bad driving.

The killer was a woman aged 66. Was it age or simply her life-long bad driving habits coming to fruition? Bad drivers are of all ages. The problem is not necessarily one of age but one of brains. My experience tells me that a huge part of the Japanese driving public is composed of morons.

My heartfelt condolences to the family who lost their child to this bad driver.

Where was his mum? Caregiver??

A terrible incident, my heart goes out to this boy's family, and to the woman in the car.

Lots of questions, but first of all, visibility cannot have been good at 5:15pm. It is almost that now, and it is dusk.

The crossing was obviously not a fully functional crossing since it was not being maintained as one, so the boy was basically on a road, not a crossing.

And, yes, five years old, out on his own at dusk... Terribly sad.

Why is a 5 year old walking by themselves?

WTF is a 5 year old walking alone?

The roads are a state here!

Stop signs up well above the road, worn markings, crossings unlit and hard to see.

Maybe the police like it this way?

Why arrest someone for an accident, the police here should take part of the responsibility as they are partly responsible for this state of affairs.

And a 5 year out alone?

Maybe arrest the parents too?

Why should people have to wait for cars to stop for them? Because they won't!

Where I come from, cars stop for pedestrians. That's how it should be. Cars should automatically slow down when they come to a crossing...folk waiting or not. It's what I do and should be the norm.

No excuses.

They actually teach kids to run across crossings here. They just stick their hands in the air and go fo it. WTF!!!

No they don’t. They teach them to put up their hands and wait for traffic, and when the cars stop it’s safe to go.

@Strangerland - No they don’t. They teach them to put up their hands and wait for traffic, and when the cars stop it’s safe to go.

Bwahahaha! I see them three or four time a week. The teachers line all the kids up at the signal in pairs and when the light changes they all run hell for leather to get across the other side. There is this amusing precession of little yellow caps and rucksacks bobbing up and down as they all run across the street. Pretty often I've seen kids fall over creating a domino effect and getting trampled. Yeah, they 'may' teach them to walk across the road, but what they do in practice is very different.

Kabukilover,

"The killer was a woman aged 66. "

This was an accident! Please don't paint this driver as someone driving around looking for someone to kill. There was a great chance the child attempted to carelessly cross the street without looking and not giving the woman enough time to stop the car in time to avoid the child. I've seen this NUMEROUS times with children running out in the street carelessly. My heart goes out to the parents AND the driver.

Agree with all the above. kuripitsu, right on the money!

Why is a 5 year old walking by themselves?

it was 5pm. some kids should be allowed to walk to cram school, soccer practice, grandmas house. 10pm no way.

the white crossing marks have almost worn away.

40 years after the bubble, this is a serious infrastructure problem. saw a car accident 2 days ago. a small car stopped in the middle of the intersection. luckily nobody was hurt.

feel sorry for both. and the parents and family.

Very dangerous to use white line crossing here because not all drivers stop. Some do but it only takes one not to. Usually children are crossing alone as well so that makes it more dangerous. Instruct your child if possible, even if it is a longer walk, to use a crossing that has lights.

My condolences to the boy's family.

The police must address this. In an article from September 2016;

"...local authorities will increase efforts to “educate drivers to always stop for pedestrians at crosswalks” by incorporating this message into future road safety campaigns."

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/09/watch-japanese-drivers-study-finds-90pc-dont-stop-pedestrians/#X4mTl3WJr3Q6Widx.97

A 5 y.o. walking alone in the evening...maybe 20-30 years ago, I would have considered this normal, especially if there was a park literally across the street from home in a quiet neighborhood, or if the kid was playing at a friend's house across the street; but not now a days, knowing what we know of incidents like this, and how many crazies there are out there.

@simon g - All the 5 yr old boys I know would be running alone on a crossing. That is the norm for boys everywhere.

They actually teach kids to run across crossings here. They just stick their hands in the air and go fo it. WTF!!!

Hirota Ogawa, was walking alone on a crossing 

All the 5 yr old boys I know would be running alone on a crossing. That is the norm for boys everywhere.