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A man was arrested for vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident early Monday morning, accused of hitting a newspaper deliveryman with his truck in Iruma City and leaving the scene.
According to police, Yoshimichi Ozaki, a 61-year-old truck driver and resident of Saitama City, hit Kiyoshi Okazaki, 72, a Yomiuri newspaper delivery man, on his scooter at an intersection on Route 61 in Iruma City at about 4.30 a.m. and failed to stop after the accident. Police said Okazaki’s skull was fractured in the accident and he was confirmed dead at a hospital.
Police found Ozaki’s truck in Akishima City of Tokyo prefecture just after 5 a.m. and questioned him on Monday, and arrested him at around 7 p.m. Ozaki told police he did not notice he made contact with the scooter and has denied the allegations.
© News reports
12 Comments
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bamboohat
he hit a guy hard enough to kill him, and didn't notice it? I don't believe it.
saborichan
I suppose if the truck was big enough, you mightn't notice. I've never driven a truck, though. Does the excuse sound absurd to anyone?
I wonder if Okazaki had a helmet on . Poor bugger.
techall
61 and 72 years old and both working. I fear with the negative population growth in Japan this is going to be the rule rather than the exception. I can see the headlines 10 years from now "92 year old cab driver runs down 101 year old construction worker."
Spidey
Unfortunately, this incident has "accident" written all over it. But given the system,...'nough said.
S
SebastianFlyte
Japanese truck drivers are the most aggressive and unsafe I have seen in any developed country. I wouldn't be surprised if this were road rage, after all how many times do you suppose they have met at the same crossing that early in the morning? Probably many times.
telecasterplayer
If the truck is big enough, and if it was a side-swipe, yes.
CaptDingleheimer
Japan needs to outlaw the pay-by-the-load practice that is common in Japanese trucking. Those guys drive like maniacs, and the exorbitant highway tolls keep them on the regular roads with everyone else.
Speed
Trust me, they're all over the expressways, too.
likeitis
Well, many of you have noticed that the truckers drive like maniacs. I wonder if any of you have ever been awake from about 3 a.m. on and noticed how the scooter riding delivery people also drive like maniacs?
Also, remember this is a scooter vs. a truck. It is quite possible that if the scooter hit the truck, the driver did not notice. Its noisy in those cabins. Its even possible the man was literally run over and it was not discernible from the feeling of hitting a pothole, and we cannot expect them to stop for every pothole.
Quite frankly, I am quick to pin most of the blame on the scooter rider here. Its easy to not see a scooter coming from inside a truck, but how do you fail to see a truck coming while sitting on a scooter? Carelessness, that's how. You folks see a truck coming, I recommend you give it the right away until you are sure it is stopped or slowing down, and darn the traffic rules. Not that truckers should expect that though. But they will not pay for their mistakes half as much as you will.
BBLeo
Another 'KING OF THE ROAD' it is very hard to say if driver was aware that he hit someone. This is a very common issue on the roads and it will be hard for police to establish case for prosecutor. If Truckee was drunk or on drugs than it is different story we will have to wait and see what police will produce as evidence. I hope that Mr. Kiyoshi Okazaki wasn't drunk, or he had a bad vision and wearing helmet.
Kokubuspider
smoking and god knows what else. Its amazing how many people dont notice theyve hit someone, unless they did and are trying to .... ah,i see.
Dennis Bauer
Not a day goes by without something happening in saitama R.I.P. Kiyoshi Okazaki