Japanese Winter Olympic medalist admits causing collision

Blind drunk at 09:55AM on a Sunday morning...it is a safe bet Hiraoka was not on his way to church.

Hiraoka, who had been drinking the night before the accident, explained he "confused the accelerator and the brake" when driving in Katsuragi 

He is suspected of fleeing the scene despite the driver of the other vehicle, a 40-year-old woman, sustaining minor injuries.

The impact of the crash caused the minicar to run onto a sidewalk, hitting a 4-year-old boy and three other people in their 30s and 40s, all of whom sustained minor injuries.

He is going to pay a fine, make an apology with some monies paid and he's on his way. But if you or I did ANY 1 of these crimes, true justice shall be revealed.

Also drinking the night before? I think he still had alcohol in his system by 9:30am.

Time to repeat his driving test....

Rammed another car into pedestrians and then fled the scene? Throw the book at him. It's lucky he didn't kill anyone.

I remembered hearing his story too after the Sochi Games. He grew up in Nara but as a child, his family would take 5-6 hour drive to Nagano every weekend to train him to become a snowboarder. I guess he falls into the category of other sports players and entertainers that become screwed up after missing out on a normal childhood.

Its very easy to just blame the alcohol but that does not make it the truth. There are lots of stories of sober people doing the same thing. I think its equally likely fatigue was the cause or even just bad luck. But regardless of whether alcohol was to blame or not, the cops will just take the easy road and say it was the alcohol if its detectable and he would get nailed extra hard for it... even if he is just over the now near zero limit. Sadly, the smart thing is to run and show up after you are sure you are under the limit. But if you want to be a martyr, hey, be my guest. I am always willing to take responsibility for my mistakes but I am never willing to be unfairly railroaded by presumptuous and lazy individuals running an unfair system.

Wow, how ironic, a 23 year old, athlete, heading into the prime years of his life, couldn't differentiate between the accelerator and brake pedals.

couldn't differentiate between the accelerator and brake pedals.

I assume you have not driven much. Lots of drivers, when suddenly confronted with a need to suddenly brake, have had their foot slip off the right edge of the brake pedal. For many reasons, such as panic, fatigue, sleepiness, lack of awareness of this issue, poor choice of footwear and yes, even drunkenness, some don't stop their foot falling onto the accelerator.

Does it even matter if he was in the olympics? He nearly killed people due to his negligence.

I guess if he were a GOLD medalist, this would've been "fake news."

and this.....

> Hiraoka, who had been drinking the night before the accident, explained he "confused the accelerator and the brake" when driving in Katsuragi on Sept. 29, sources close to the matter said.

Police are investigating whether he was under the influence of alcohol.

According to investigators, Hiraoka, who hails from the neighboring city of Gose, hit a minicar around 9:55 a.m.

Let me save you some time. He was drunk and is guilty. Case closed.