Police in Osaka have arrested a 38-year-old man over a hit-and-run incident in Osaka on Tuesday night.
According to police, a 72-year-old man was crossing a road on his bicycle in Nishinaru Ward at around 10:30 p.m. when he was struck by a car. Fuji TV reported that he suffered serious injuries, including a broken jaw, but his condition is not life-threatening, police said.
The driver, Daisuke Kawabata, who fled the scene without stopping or notifying authorities, was identified through surveillance camera footage, which clearly showed the incident and the car’s number plate. The footage shows the vehicle appear to slow down for a moment, but then accelerate.
Kawabata was arrested on a charge of dangerous driving resulting in injury.
Police said Kawabata was drunk at the time of the incident and told them he had had "a few beers.” He also told police that he did not realize that he had hit anyone.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
Login to comment
khulifi
Stop him driving for the rest of his life ...
Monozuki
Um. An inattentive driver with DUI. And that was a stroke of bad luck for the old man. Hope he gets back on his feet in due course.
Dylan Smith
Give the driver the chair! Japan needs to send a message to all these clowns who think that simply saying that they "don't remember" will get them a lesser sentence. Disgusting!
nath
Why would they think that?
sensei258
Ah the ubiquitous "I was drunk" excuse
albaleo
Do you know of any cases where the courts in Japan pay heed to such excuses?
(By the way, it should be Nishinari-ku, I think.)
jonobugs
In this case, I would consider charging anyone with attempted murder or attempted manslaughter if they are found intoxicated but still decided to drive a motor vehicle. "I was drunk" should not be an excuse, it should compound the crime.
sumobody
Dylan SmithAPR. 21, 2016 - 09:00PM JST *Give the driver the chair! Japan needs to send a message to all these clowns who think that simply saying that they "don't remember" will get them a lesser sentence. Disgusting!
Sure, execute a man for an accident. Great suggestion. How about taking away his license for 10 years, put him in jail for a year or two and make him pay restitution to the victim. would that be a slap on the wrist in your eyes?
therougou
Good luck with that, since the video shows you slowed down at first.
Derp Man
pumpkin31526
Im beginning to think that hit and run is part of the national driving test here. Page 12...Involvement in a road traffic accident. 1, flee the scene. 2, wait 12 hours then report to the local police station. 3, simply state one of the following..1, I didn`t realize I hit anyone, 2..I panicked..3, I dont remember anything.