Photo: Twitter/@re7123
crime

Video shows car speeding through Shibuya’s scramble crossing filled with people

32 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Shibuya’s scramble crossing is one of Tokyo’s most famous landmarks. Located directly outside Shibuya Station, where a number of train and subway lines converge, the intersection serves as the gateway to the neighborhood’s hundreds of shops, restaurants, and clubs, and the mass of people that makes its way across every time the walk sign comes on is a sight to see.

But the display of concentrated urban energy turned terrifying on the night of Monday when, just before 10 p.m., a van ran a red light, speeding through the intersection while it was filled with pedestrians, with a police car in hot pursuit.

While running a red light presents a danger to pedestrians under any circumstances, it’s an even more perilous scenario at the Scramble Intersection, where traffic from all directions is shut down when the walk sign comes on to allow for diagonal crossing. And the van didn’t just barrel through the intersection once, either. About 10 seconds after running the red light, the driver makes a U-turn and comes through the intersection again, which had refilled with people thinking the danger had passed.

The chase began when the van fled from the police as the driver was being questioned by the police during a traffic stop. After the van’s second pass through the intersection, though, the officers deemed the pursuit too dangerous to continue The authorities are currently searching for the car and its owner.

Thankfully, no pedestrians were struck by the cars. However, one of the cars was struck by a pedestrian. As the van made its second pass through the intersection, most people scattered, but one man, dressed in a green shirt and tan pants, can be seen turning towards the danger and giving the van a swift kick along its driver’s side as it passes by.

Unfortunately, so amount of righteous anger will give your physical strikes enough power to take down a car, and the kick did nothing to slow the escaping van down. If anything, the kick did more damage to the man himself, as his willful impact with the van spun him around and dumped him on his backside right in the middle of the intersection.

Sources: Livedoor News via Jin, Yahoo! Japan News/Nitele News 24 via Hachima Kiko

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japanese driver fails to stop at a yellow light, turns herself in to the police

-- “Graveyard of the Traffic Signals” found in Nagoya

-- Simulation shows the chaotic consequences of walking in Shibuya while staring at your phone

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

32 Comments
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Could this please be used to teach drivers to stop at zebra crossings and that a yellow light does not means put your foot down.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Was drunk, don't remember.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

I liked the bloke who tried to kick the car, and ended up flat on his back.

I'd have done the same!

18 ( +19 / -1 )

Anti terrorist drill proved both timely and effective then?

joking aside, that kind of driving could get you shot in many countries in Europe these days.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

It's a miracle none of the smartphone zombies were hit.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Hm... black van? Maybe some right-wing group or Japanese mafia? In the latter case the chances that the driver will be arrested are pretty slim.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

Unfortunately, so amount of righteous anger will give your physical strikes enough power to take down a car, and the kick did nothing to slow the escaping van down, If anything, the kick did more damage to the man himself, as his willful impact with the van spun him around and dumped him on his backside right in the middle of the intersection.

Yeah, I've written final paragraphs like that when faced with a deadline, too.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Van damn!

4 ( +7 / -3 )

The car was stopped by a police car but then took off. It actually went through the busy crossing twice. Once when most people had finished crossing (followed by a police car) then did a u-turn and came back when it was busier. Luckily the police siren might have had people looking up and around.

Likely they were drunk or had drugs and were trying to flee the cops.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Just thinking that car driving through a massed pedestrian crossing in lots of other places people, politicians and the media would be screaming 'TERRORISM! TERRORISM! TERRORISM!', places where the terrorists have won.

Clearly they have not set foot in Japan - yet! Though left bags leaking strange gas on a train would urk some older people with memories of Aum.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

Whether on foot or behind the wheel, seems you have a pretty decent chance of escaping J police (for many different reasons, not just incompetence...)

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Yankies

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

With all the nearby kobans, didn't the police alert other colleagues on duty? That might have helped on getting the van to stop. They must have footage from street surveillance too, so I don't get how the van could get away like that.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I liked the bloke who tried to kick the car, and ended up flat on his back.

I had a chuckle at that myself.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

LOL the "hero" trying to stop the car by kicking it !

9 ( +9 / -0 )

While I like the spirit of the pedestrian who kicked the van, I question his methodology. He looks to have had a briefcase, or large package in his hands, and if, instead of trying the kick, he'd used that as a weapon to try and noticeably damage the van (break a window, scrape the paint down most of the side) it would have been both less dangerous (longer reach, plus a cushioning effect) and more effective (easier to identify the vehicle from surveillance cameras, by eyewitnesses, and the damage would have to be fixed to keep using it, or even leave it parked, which leaves more of an information trail than just getting a new license plate does)

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It seems that the driver has no courage to hit people. He must be a normal good person driven by a lot of pressure in this society...

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@Richard

Nah. He was an immature, drunk idiot.

As I said, I'd have done the same!

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Really should not chase cars during rush hours, but instead notify on them everyone around. Using space surveillance is also a solution. But well, yeah, those idiots running from police.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

If the man suffered injury, he wouldn't be able to make a claim against the driver since he willfully kicked the wagon would he?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

A scene straight out of the Tokyo Drift movie except the movie used visual effects.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

police: "where did you get your license ? "

driver: "Grand theft Auto"..............................

sound of screeching tires and janes addiction kicks in

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

...Though the questionable notion of USA army infesting Japanese islands has nothing to do with this particular crime article. Nothing at all. At all.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Need to spike the tires.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Please be careful when hitting speeding cars. Many years ago, I did this to a driver that nearly hit me running a red light. He immediately came to a stop and we exchanged words. Then, upon my walking away, got out of his car and came up behin me. He quietly "roundhouse" punched me in the face, ran to his car and drove off. Moral. Don't turn your back on violent idiots

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Possibly a health delivery van on an emergency run

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This vid shows how trusting Japanese urbanites are of drivers. On a recent visit to NYC's Chinatown, it was virtually impossible to get more than one vehicle through a particular intersection, because pedestrians know they aren't going to be run over. That doesn't happen anywhere else in NYC that I've seen, except for the distracted (smartphone/texting) pedestrian, the elderly struggling to stand much less walk, tourists, and, of course, the obnoxious, holier-than-thou, egomaniacs. At least the guy in this instance slowed down before nearly running folks down! I hope this serves as a wake-up call to all, everywhere.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Daniel: I'm guessing your comment is to me. My spelling might be off but I guess you don't understand Japanese to know what a yanke is.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Black urban assault vehicle, "Yaks" being chased by the Keystone Cops. Looks like something out a movie!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Did they catch the guy yet?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The driver can be seen actively avoiding hitting people, so not a terrorist... and a van? Looks more like one of those cube cars that are popular.

I do applaud the chap giving the car a swift kick... causing a piece of bumper to break off... nice one.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The middle-aged driver handed himself in yesterday and has been arrested.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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