7-year-old boy seriously injured in Oita hit-and-run

Well at least the guy turned himself in and thank God the kid did not die due to his recklessness in not calling an ambulance.

Saw this last night on tv, blood everywhere. Glad the kid didnt die and the driver turned himself in.

I would guess the reason why he fled the scene was simply to kill time so the 'ozeki' one cup can run out of the system. Otherwise no point to run in the first place.

I have a question: Was the kid knocked into the ditch or did this deadbeat place him there to hide his crime?

So scary... Poor boy. I hope he recovers okay. Also glad the guy turned himself in. Hitting anyone is pretty traumatizing, but hitting a small child and running away from that would haunt you to your grave, I'm sure.

I believe the city is called "Hita" and not "Hida."

Moderator: That has been corrected. Thank you.

So you mean nobody saw this child in the ditch? Come on. Pat attention drivers and pedestrians.

Pay attention

What is wrong with these people? I get that if you hit someone it is automatically your fault in law regardless, but to flee the scene and not even call an ambulance anonymously, call the police, anything? It`s nothing short of murder when you can so easily prevent a death and yet do nothing.

Great that he - eventually - turned himself in, but doesn`t help the kid at all. My blood runs cold at the thought that that could be my child lying injured in a ditch.

I worry every day, my children walk to school on unpaved roads. No safety zone only an excuse of a 50cm green strip. I make damn sure they walk in groups and never on their own. Just how long was this poor boy left in the ditch to die like a dog!!!! wake up drivers, stop texting while driving, stop talking on the phone, pay attention to your driving or you could kill a child!

Or you could even kill an adult, who are bigger and therefore easier to see if you aren't paying attention to something else.

There's just something that really needs to be done about traffic/pedestrian safety in Japan. Kids (and sometimes adults) act like idiots while they're walking on narrow strips of road, drivers aren't paying a lick of attention, bicyclists are busy trying to text and hold their umbrellas at the same time ... it's a wonder more people don't get killed every day!

So you mean nobody saw this child in the ditch? Come on. Pat attention drivers and pedestrians

Saw the news and looks like this happened on a country road and I am not surprised nobody found him quick because he was in a ditch that is 60cm deep and 50cm wide, and looked like it was quite bushy.. He was unconscious when his father found him -- Gosh I can't even imagine how the father felt when he saw him in the ditch.. Glad the boy was alive and glad the father found him.

According to the news I watched in Japanese, the guy didn't turn himself in voluntarily. The police made inquires, and some testimonies led them to the guy, who admitted fleeing the crime scene because "he got scared".

Im sorry but what?! a 7 YEAR OLD walking to school by himself? Does no one else think this is incredibly young age for a child to be doing this along such dangerous roads? I mean ... with a group of school friends is one thing, but completely by himself is another. 7 year old boys are not known for their abundance of common sense.

pumpkin why would you even let your children do that? (Of course I dont know the ages of your children though, so my apologies if they are much older!) Instead of "worrying" about them, why not just go with them and then you will KNOW they are safe?

7 ear olds ride trains alone here to hentai....it is easy and safe

"goddog at 11:55 PM JST - 21st January 7 ear olds ride trains alone here to hentai....it is easy and safe"

yes ... but putting your kid on a train at one stop and then getting off at the other to go to school also seems WAY safer to me too than letting your kid walk alone down country roads with no pavements. I notice this article didn't state how long or the boy had to walk either? It doesn't seem like the school was just nextdoor though.

if you are questioning why this kid was walking to school at this age, clearly you have never spent one minute inside Japan. It is very common, and it is not some haphazard system. you will find crossing guards at busy intersections, not just outside the school, and a search party was sent for this kid when he didn't arrive on time. If you envision this story in another country such as U.S.A clearly it would seem insane, but they have been doing it this way in Japan for years and years.

A 60cm by 50cm ditch is going to be about 2 feet wide by 20 inches deep and however many feet long the ditch is. A 7-year-old isn't going to have much problem laying in such a ditch. What's lucky is he apparently didn't land face down in standing water, or we'd be talking about a drowning instead of a serious injury.

Hita? Hida? Who cares! It is the bloody same in KANJI! The point here is that too many Japanese are DRUNKS! And too many stupid Japanese drive around drunk, this is a horrible situation, I hope this 25 year old bastard rots in jail and that this 7 year old little boy gets better soon.

This young boy is lucky to be able to recover from this hit and run incident. I am hoping more of this story comes out to explain the circumstances.

At 7 am there is plenty of sun light to be able to see what is on the road and be able to maneuver around to not hit them. When the J-cops get through with checking his cell phone activity and probe more on where he was coming from, they will eventually get the whole story. If it is alcohol related, you definitely know the bar he could of been at will not come forward saying he left drunk due to the Japanese DUI laws. If it was due to driver distraction either from fatigue, texting, watching a movie, etc, he will probably get a slap on the wrist. And worst scenario, if he was an angry driver that decided to go on the driver rampage to hit folks, he would probably say he has a mental problem.

Any reason listed above or other thoughts, he should be considered guilty for knowingly hitting someone then fleeing the seen. What next, gomen payment and a fake gomenasai speech to the family to lessen his punishment as a dangerous driver?

It is very common,

Agreed.

and it is not some haphazard system.*

Disagree. It’s a system that relies on faith rather than mechanics to prevent accidents or crime.

You will find crossing guards at busy intersections not just outside the school,

Rarely, not enough to let my 7 year old child (if I had one) walk somewhere alone. I rarely see what you have mentioned away from schools. Don’t get me wrong, they do exist but it’s uncommon to say the least.

If you envision this story in another country such as U.S.A clearly it would seem insane,

Not really. It depends where you live, similar to Japan. It’s just basic reasoning; a 7 year old boy VS pretty much anything is defenseless. Japan’s got her fair share of rapists, pedophiles, and inattentive drivers just like America and it only takes one to ruin your family for life.

but they have been doing it this way in Japan for years and years

They also have been eating whale meat since the dinosaurs. They also say “itadakimasu” before eating a meal and clap twice before praying. What’s your point?

facevalue.

The protection for school-children varies from ward to ward, etc.

In my ward the kids have certain routes they have to take.

Those are designed for safe walking with barriers, crossing guards(human) and some roads are blocked to motorized traffic for about an hour every morning.