Police in Yokohama said Friday they have arrested a 73-year-old taxi driver for hitting a three-year-old boy in Kohoku Ward on Thursday night.
The boy is in a serious condition in hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening, Fuji TV reported.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The boy was walking with his parents when he was hit by the taxi.
The driver, Mitsuji Watanabe, was arrested at the scene and charged with negligent driving resulting in injury.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Kobe White Bar Owner
Get well soon kid but this story is deja vous, J Taxis are shockingly arrogant drives.
rainyday
Relieved to hear the kid is going to make it, so many of these stories end the other way.
Being a city resident whose home is on a narrow street that has no sidewalks and loads of taxis zipping by all the time, I am constantly worried about something like this happening to my kid.
smithinjapan
The company bears some of the responsibility for having a 73-year-old driver on their payroll.
Glad the kid is going to make it, and I hope the old guy realizes it's time to hang up the hat.
SenseNotSoCommon
Traffic calming now, please.
Abhorsenaube
I agree Smith, I'm so surprised a man who's in his 70s is working as a taxi driver.
Spanki
It's not really any surprise to hear of a 70 something year old taxi driver in Japan. Most of the taxis I go in are driven by old boys, either they can't afford to retire or they can't stand being at home and want to keep busy. As for the need for traffic calming I totally agree, the narrow back streets are gradually being widened when properties are rebuilt, which makes people drive faster around those streets. It's not so much taxi drivers that worry me on the small streets but more so the delivery drivers on those 3 wheel scooters.
khulifi
I pray for the boy to recover soon ... my heart with his parent.
clueless
Not saying this driver should be a scapegoat but something seriously needs to be done about taxi drivers. Speeding, driving through pedestrian crossings and red signals seems to be the norm.
Seriously callous individuals who think they are above the law and little regard for other road users.
Disillusioned
Hmmm, it's a boggling situation based on the little information in the article. Was the kid wandering astray or was the taxi driver hooning along like a ratbag? Or, both? However, if the taxi driver can prove the kid was wandering astray without adequate parental supervision he will get off and the parents will be charged with negligence. It's hard to speculate on this one because there are so many reckless taxi drivers and so many stupid parents. Hmmmmmm?
lordoflys
I'm finding that some taxi drivers are just too old to be on the road. I had one pick me up at Haneda recently. He took out all of the red cones dividing the road from the construction there. Yikes. He just laughed.**
Hasan Az-Zaki Rahim
The driver was arrested at the scene & charged with negligent driving resultinf in injury! Please rest well after you recover, little young boy!