crime

Man run over by car believed to be victim of earlier hit-and-run

11 Comments

A man was found dead after being run over by a car on a road in Mooka, Tochigi Prefecture, but police said Tuesday that he may have already been dead after being hit by another car earlier.

According to police, a 19-year-old man ran over the body of Atsushi Taguchi, 33, at around 3:30 a.m. Monday, Fuji TV reported. The driver stopped immediately and notified police. Taguchi was taken to hospital where he was confirmed dead.

However, since the body revealed skid marks from another car, Tochigi police said they believe another vehicle struck Taguchi first, and then kept going.

Police said they are examining surveillance camera footage to try and determine when Taguchi was hit and by what vehicle or vehicles.

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11 Comments
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The driver stopped immediately and notified police.

Hope he doesn't get into trouble or made to pay the family. Kudos for stopping .

6 ( +6 / -0 )

The driver stopped immediately and notified police.

Point taken.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Kudos to him for stopping and reporting the accident. As for not seeing the body:

At that hour of the morning, on a probably unlit road in rural Tochigi--outside of the expressway or around commercial spots there are not a lot of street lights in that area, as I recall--driving even a little too fast for the conditions could easily prevent a driver from seeing a body in the road in time to stop. Especially an inexperienced one, and at 19 it's unlikely the driver has a wealth of driving experience.

I haven't been out that way for a while, but if memory serves it's one of many such areas with relatively little traffic in the wee hours, and what drivers there are tend to drive faster than they should, assuming they're not going to come across other drivers, much less pedestrians. They're usually right, but when they're wrong, it can be tragic.

The most recent data I've seen for traffic fatalities per 100,000 population had Tochigi at #16, with Tokyo at #46: http://stats-japan.com/t/kiji/11911

We won't know until they catch the culprit, but I won't be surprised, given the time of day, if we learn the hit-and-run driver had been drinking and left the scene out of fear of the consequences. It has been reported numerous times in the Japanese media that hit-and-runs have increased since the DUI laws were strengthened. DUI cases may well have been reduced, but at the cost of more drunk drivers taking the risk of running from the scene (sometimes turning themselves in the next day when it's too late to prove DUI), to avoid the much harsher penalties.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"I don't understand how you cannot see a body laying in the middle of the road."

Very easy at 3 am. Looks very much like a shadow until too close to avoid hitting it.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The driver stopped immediately and notified police.

It was good for the 19-year-old man to have stopped and reported it immediately to the police. I think he has to spend anxious days for some days ahead. Hope things turn in his favor. RIP to the victim.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

A body lying in the street is surely just a very unlucky accident.

Some years ago it was reported that a taxi hit a drunk lying in the road in the early hours. Probably no refelctive clothing. Who among us could avoid something unexpected like this?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Disillusioned

Any number of factors can lead to a body not being seen by the driver. First of all you don't even know if his whole body was on the street or if he was half off the street, what condition was the body in, it was night so a body on the street might be visible too late to do anything, depending on speed. Maybe it was after a curve, after a bump, maybe incoming lights or other traffic signs distracted from the road directly ahead. Also nowhere is it said it was literally "the middle" of the road.

So there isn't really anything that is not believable here. There are almost no details given.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Poor guy is going to be severely traumatized by this experience I am sure. :(

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I don't understand how you cannot see a body laying in the middle of the road.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

All drivers must stop and call emergency service for Ambulance when they hit someone even if they scare of blood. You can not hide your guilt forever and you know what you have done and feel guilty of conscience if you didn't call emergency service for ambulance. Calling emergency service and ambulance, that can save victim live and you can feel you have done right thing regardless of Police take action because of you're drunk. The Judges will be taken consideration for your right action and mercy on you when sentencing. Don't be coward and do the right thing. Put yourself into victim and victim family shoes.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It is very much possible not to see a body lying on the street until it's too late, even at legal speed. Every driver will tell you that much.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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