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Police in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, said Sunday they have arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in death after his semitrailer fatally struck a 68-year-old man.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, Kyodo News reported. Police said the truck driver, Shinichi Okoba, is accused of hitting Isamu Miyagi from behind as he rode his bicycle along the side of an overpass. The impact threw Miyagi and his bike over the guardrail and he fell 10 meters to the road below. Okoba kept going, police said.
Miyagi, a security guard, was riding home at the time. A pedestrian called 119 and Miyagi was taken to hospital where he died due to loss of blood from chest and head injuries, police said.
Police said Okoba, whose truck was identified from street surveillance camera footage, has denied the allegation and quoted him as saying that he wasn’t aware that he had hit anyone.
© Japan Today
9 Comments
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Alongfortheride
"after his semitrailer fatally struck a 68-year-old man."
It was almost 3am, dark and his 40' long trailer clipped the poor guy. I would hardly call this a hit and run as the driver would not have known.
Disillusioned
quoted him as saying that he wasn’t aware that he had hit anyone
This should be part of his offense, not his defense.
Nippon Ijsbear
In the UK, that is know as "driving without due care and attention" which is a crime.
Driver was probably too busy with his mobile to notice the cyclist. Not unusual in Japan.
Mickelicious
As both a keen cyclist and driver, this sends a shiver down my spine.
Picture a possibly underlit overpass, a guy maybe in dark clothes with no back light (they aren't mandatory, after all) risking the short cut - as is his right - on his weary way home from a long, monotonous shift.
The ramps on these bridges can be quite steep, creating a blindspot at the start of their apex, but dramatically less of one when you're high up in a truck cab.
No mitigation for a professional driver. None whatsoever.
Stay safe and seen, everyone.
Rodney
Check his keitai usage at the time. Just a clue J police…
Jonathan Prin
If no light from the bike, how to avoid hitting cyclist ? Was the driver using his keitai ?
Let justice work its way since there are so many details lacking.
Please don´t judge before the justice.
wallace
All hit and runs are major crimes.
A truck is fitted with enough lights to light up the entire road.
Harry_Gatto
Quite so. Bicycles are not required to carry a rear light, and I don't know if this cyclist was using one, but they are required to have a red reflector. Even wearing dark clothing the driver should have seen him.
Whether or not the cyclist swerved suddenly or the driver was not paying attention remains to be seen, I don't know as I wasn't there to see the incident.