91-year-old man referred to prosecutors over hit-and-run of dog

driving through a red light

This is normal behavior here.

"I did not look ahead," they quoted him as saying.

If that is how he usually drives there is the problem.

He should not have had a license.

Without a dead dog this wouldn't even be a story. 91-year-old driver probably drives through 91 red lights a week.

His lawyer should be able to get him off the hook. I don't imagine there's a law on the books pertaining to animal traffic accidents, and if there is, I expect the penalty would be quite mild.

Why don't the cops charge him in relation to endangering the girl?

This story makes it WAY less serious than it actually was. Video shows the tiny girl crossing the street with her dog, with her hand high in the air as they've been advised to do...and the geezer flies by at over 30 kph crushing the girl's dog and nearly the girl herself.

He knew what he did immediately afterwards...and kept driving. "I'm too old to get in serious trouble," he knew in the back of his mind...just act feeble and surprised and promise it won't happen again.

No question his license should be revoked and he should pay the family for the tragic loss. He should also do community service as a crossing guard at the same intersection for the rest of his life.

Or, just put him in jail. Being old is in no way a valid excuse for reckless behavior.

I could have probably been a bit sympathetic if he had not run away. Since he did, I can it…

Or, just put him in jail.

If people who drive through red lights here all get put into jail, as you are suggesting, because that is the actual reason the accident occurred, there would probably be about 25 million people in jail today!

Can you imagine the trauma to the little girl seeing her dog crushed! Where I live it's normal for 2-3 cars to go through the traffic light after it has turned red.

Friggin' please! I loved my dog almost as much as my children, but I would never have jailed such an elderly man for it's death. As much as I love dogs, elevating the value on the former before the latter is nonsensical.

Redemption

Without a dead dog this wouldn't even be a story.

Correct. Running a red light, in and of itself, is not newsworthy.

Killing a dog, and almost killing a child is.

What exactly was your point?

That running a red light is completely normal. Regrettably.

Friggin' please! I loved my dog almost as much as my children, but I would never have jailed such an elderly man for it's death.

It isn't the fact that he hit the dog, he ran away. He is criminally liable for animal cruelty and property damage. If you hit a parked car and ran away, you can be arrested for that as well even if there was no injury or death involved.

Hit and run very normal as well to property. When I had a car in Tokyo twice I returned to a parking lot and found a new dent or significant scratch with no note or anything.

Friggin' please! I loved my dog almost as much as my children, but I would never have jailed such an elderly man for it's death. As much as I love dogs, elevating the value on the former before the latter is nonsensical.

Not only for that but for almost killing a little girl, dangerous driving, careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Judging by his reaction after he was caught we would all be better off he was behind bars.

Another self-entitled selfish old person putting others lives at risk.

This was not your typical "wait for traffic to pass so you can finally turn right" fresh red light run. If not for that, people would literally not get home from work until near midnight.

No. It looks to me like this was a straight-away with a somewhat random pedestrian crossing in the middle, a real danger in itself. But the girl and dog were nearly across the road by the time he came in, which means he ran a really stale red light.

Why did he do that? That is absolutely NOT normal for Japan. Of course odds are strong that at 91 he is not all there. And if he isn't all there, its hard to blame him. If this is the case, its the people at the license bureau to blame, his doctor if any, and the government. The license bureau or doctor should have spotted this and had his license pulled. The government should be checking drivers this old like every six months.

And the parents? I think they are insane for letting a 6 year old walk the dog alone where crossing the street is necessary. Walking a dog can really create complicated situations really fast. Its just not in a six year old's capacity to handle those situations.

I should add, this guy may vacillate between remembering the accident and not remembering the accident. 91 year old brains will do things like that. He may not be lying when he says he does not remember but then he does. I am nowhere near 91 but I can already spot holes in my memory like this. But like I say, if he that bad off he should have had his license revoked. In fact, if he has family in regular contact, they too may share some blame.

I quit driving a car and bike 9 years ago.

Friggin' please! I loved my dog almost as much as my children, but I would never have jailed such an elderly man for it's death. As much as I love dogs, elevating the value on the former before the latter is nonsensica

Maybe if you read the article rather than just the headline it would make mroe sense.

The article doesn’t make it a big deal but read carefully, the dog was being walked by a 6 year old. The news showed the video of the girl crossing the street, at the cross walk, has her hand raised like kids are taught to do to make sure cars see them, and the dog is walking almost exactly next to her. When she gets just barely to the other side the old man’s car is seen barreling full speed through the cross walk. The dog died but the little girl was so dang close to getting hit as well it’s really scary.

him admitting he wasn’t even looking is wild too

It is incredible to read that running a red light in Japan is so common place. In my country and in the UK, where I am just now, I rarely, if ever, see it happen.