crime

Family of nurse killed in car accident in Yokohama speak of sorrow at press conference

14 Comments

The older sister of a nurse killed by a driver at a Yokohama City intersection last Monday as she waited for the lights to change agreed to attend a press conference held Monday night to speak of the accident which also claimed the lives of two other nurses.

The woman, older sister of Tomoko Kato, 43, but whose name and age were not disclosed as a condition of her attending the conference, said that she could never forgive the 18-year-old male who is alleged to have failed to stop at a red light and hit the women with his car after colliding with a vehicle turning right at the intersection. “When I think of how much it must have hurt, I get so angry. She was working late that day and must have been tired. And then a ball of metal came flying in her direction,” she said, fighting back her tears.

The woman’s husband also attended the conference, and said: “I’m still shocked by the suddenness of it all. I still think she will pop by our place after work.” He went on to say: “She worked at the hospital for 22 years, rarely took a day off and did her best the whole time. She wasn’t the kind of girl who would stand out, but we received so many messages of thanks and appreciation from those who attended the funeral service. I think that was a reflection of what kind of person she was.”

The couple also mentioned that they had not yet received an apology from the suspect nor his family.

© News reports

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14 Comments
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Sad. I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him and I wish that young guys would stop thinking that they are such fantastically skilled drivers that they can speed and ignore the road rules without any consequences.

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I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him

I hope the Japanese cops get off their butts and actually start policing these irresponsible twits. Generally most Japanese drivers are law abiding, but too many people don't give a shit and speed and run red lights constantly. I drive my kids to kindy every day and see at least two or three red light runners as well as maniacs speeding in a 4k round trip. And, it's not just young drivers responsible. The oldies are the worst. They'll just cruise on through a red light with the standard blank stare and total disregard for anyone or anything. If I was the family of the woman killed I wouldn't be putting the blame on the kid driver and asking his family for an apology. I'd be directing all my anger at the bloody useless cops that do nothing about road safety and driver education.

Here's a list of commonly broken laws I see every day: Speeding in back streets Running red lights Children not wearing seat belts Cell phone use while driving Kamikaze scooters flying through intersections Drink driving These are just a short list of things I see nearly every day. Gambling is illegal in Japan until you get on the roads.
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Japanese seem to always put themselves above God because they can never forgive anybody. Gee, we forgave them for the war atrocities but they can not forgive somebody who did not even intend to do that. Jesus forgave us so why can not they also learn to forgive?

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I agree there's a serious lack of road law enforcement in Japan. I often see middle aged men driving insanely.

Last weekend, one of these types appeared behind me and flashed his lights, and swerved madly behind me as I as travelling in the right-hand lane at 120km/h. I calmly changed lanes to let him pass, and he proceeded to intimidate the car in front. The next car refused to let him past, so he swerved into the left-hand lane and sped into the distance.

Samuraiiki: I don't personally know anyone who has forgiven the Japanese Imperial Army for atrocities. Putting themselves above God because they cannot forgive? I think you'll find the majority of the world's population would have trouble forgiving someone for murdering a loved one. Personally, if it happened to me, I would seek revenge and feel satisfaction when I carried it out.

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I don't know what Japanese think of their own police, but having read about them and having observed them for thirty years, I feel they are not much more than a big joke. They will set up speed traps on little used roads--where they target mainly mini-cars while big trucks go speeding by--yet drive right by cars parked in one lane of busy 2-lane highways, etc. etc. The list is too long.... People in this country just don't know how to demand accountability; everything is "shigata ga nai."

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Of course all the things happens in Japan, will do so in any other country (more or less). I'm not so often in Japan (once a year), but compare to my first travel to my family some years ago, I feelt a change in traffic, while i'm droving on the streets. It is obviously, that driving habbit has changed to a worser style. As I later will live in Japan, I already decided to buy a very big car there, just to feel a little bit safer. And at least the phrase Japan is a safe country, should be removed by all the travel guide books now. It's still kind of safe, but not A safe country anymore...

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This incident just shows in what messed up world we live in. Many people died in last few days. So many didn't have to. You are not protected from anything.

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Disillusioned. I agree 95% with you, the 5% I have to disagree on, is mainly oldies are the worst. statistically this is simply not the case. I to drive to work every day and observe at least 5 or 6 violations mostly running red lights, I think traffic lights are advisory rather than mandatory. Tailgating I think is a major reason why drivers choose to run red lights, stop too soon and your rear ended! The government (har har) needs to run a campaign on national TV on safety and driving standards. That said, generally I think the majority of drivers are OK!

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It is a very sad story. Daily around the world victims are rising due to car accidents. It doesn't matter how hard you try to avoid such scenarios, but driver once they are behind the steering wheel under influence of alcohol or drugs they are living in another world. Should Japan start to look seriously into this issue???

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Sorry for the deaths. I think a little bit of moving through changing lights is acceptable, to keep traffic flowing, but everyday I see idiot drivers taking it far too far. I actually have a policy to give them a good old blast of the horn, something Japanese are too shy to do.

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Sorry for the deaths. I think a little bit of moving through changing lights is acceptable, to keep traffic flowing, but everyday I see idiot drivers taking it far too far. I actually have a policy to give them a good old blast of the horn, something Japanese are too shy to do.

Great, now i have a horn buddy :-D I agree with you, man... some people deserve a good blast. But I don't think the moron here was trying to keep the traffic flowing. this lowlife should just rot to death somewhere.

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It is hard to forgive but it does help one to heal. I know from experience. My condolences to the family.

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Why does the family of the driver have to apologize?

and Why is older Sister so ashamed she can not give out her name and age? Bet they mosaic-ed out her face on the television too.

Just about everyone here is quick to judge the driver; I wonder how many of you actually drive in Japan.

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Accountability starts with the perp. The cops didn't tell the twerp to run the red light and I know darn well he wasn't told it was alright to do so when he was learning to drive. So here's who's at fault: The 18-year-old who ran the red light. Not his parents, not his teachers, not the cops, not the government, JUST HIM. I really get sick of hearing how it's the cop's fault for a criminal acting the way he did. ACCOUNTABILITY STARTS WITH THE PERPETRATOR.

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