crime

Woman killed by hit-and-run driver in Yokosuka

17 Comments

Police said Friday they are looking for the driver of a car that struck and killed a woman in Yokosuka on Thursday.

Police received reports of an accident shortly before 8 p.m. and rushed to the scene to find the 33-year-old woman, who is a gym instructor, lying in the street, TV Asahi reported. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Eyewitnesses say the woman was crossing the road when a car ran through the crossing at high speed, hitting her. The car continued without stopping.

Police said that a fragment of a broken turn signal, believed to have come from the car in question, was found on the road at the scene of the incident.

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17 Comments
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Too many drivers over speeding here. It's unbelievable! I'll put it at around 40% of all cars in this area are over speeding. Some drive through this narrow street which can barely fit 2 cars side by side like they are driving on the open road.

Always look out guys and gals, never ever rely on traffic signs, lights, etc in this country. Only thing works is your eyes.

RIP to this young lady.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The crossing is no guarantee that drivers are minding their business. I always let the cars go when I cross a street. You never know what is in a driver's mind. So, best time to cross is when you see the cars fully stopped on both ways of the road, or there are no cars within such a distance that will allow you to cross safely and maybe run if you think they are coming too fast. Say "doozo" to motorized vehicles and even to bicycles.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I wish that they would givemore specifics in the article. Maybe that would help jog someone's memory.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If they have a part of the car, combine that with CCTV footage... they have the murderer. It's just a matter of time.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

By "crossing" do they mean a pedestrian right of way? Or do they an intersection crossing? I If the latter, the story should mention the color of the light.

I do find it disturbing that the J media rarely mentions who had the right of way in such stories. The victim is nearly always presumed innocent, which explains the high number of hit and runs.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

So sad....

Oh, but don't let this headline fool you, we must always remember that BICYCLES ( NOT Motor Vehicles) are the REAL cause of fatalities in Japan...

RIP young lady. I hope to God it wasn't so guy from the base.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I really don't think speeding is the problem. You can die from a 15km per hour hit from a car. It is people running red lights. I drive 10 minutes to work. And EVERYDAY at least one person runs a red light in that short ten minutes. Multiple that by the millions of cars on the road in the Japan. The other problem is then inconsistent yellow lights. Some are 5 seconds. Some are 1 1/2 seconds. Even I run a red light on those sometimes unless I want to slam on my break and loose control of my car or motorcycle trying to come to a complete stop from 60km per hour in less than 1 1/2 seconds.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Hopefully they can use the broken light to track down catch the person. When will these people realize that you are in more trouble if you dont stop.

possibly a drunk driver.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Police said that a fragment of a broken turn signal, believed to have come from the car in question, was found on the road at the scene of the incident.

He's as good as found

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@JeffLee Regardless of lights, right of way, jaywalking, or anything else, if a driver hits a pedestrian, even one who dove in front of his/her car from behind something, the driver will be at fault. At the very least, they'll likely be charged with professional negligence resulting in injury/death. Ordinary drivers, not commercial ones, being licensed, are considered professionals. Realistic/reasonable or not, the assumption is that a driver must drive in such a way as to not hit pedestrians, regardless. Even if that means driving at a slow walking/crawling pace. How far prosecutors might want to take a case is a somewhat flexible thing, but the basic deal is in a motorist/pedestrian accident, the motorist is in the wrong, every time. No extenuating circumstances, no excuses, essentially.

Anyone not prepared to deal with that really should reconsider driving in Japan.

It's not necessarily fair, but that's the way it works. A little wiggle room if the pedestrian admits blame, refuses to press things, etc., but only a little.

As for hit and run...motorists are obligated to report accidents, and even putting aside the morality of the thing, should render assistance. Fleeing the scene of an accident is a very serious crime, if personal or even property damage was involved. We're talking long jail time here, maybe in the special traffic violators prison, maybe in the regular one.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Unfortuntaely, I know Balefire is right... One can only hope pedestrians - and cyclists - pay more attention to what they're doing i.e. paying attention to their surroundings, watching where they're walking or riding - instead of busy on their cellphones, or listening to whatever they're listening to on their earphones. Parents should also teach their children the "rules of the road" but then again, unfortunately, that may be asking too much since it's often the parents themselves who are not paying attention...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

There's an incredible number of reckless drivers who endanger pedestrians and other drivers alike. It comes back to personal responsibility; pedestrians and cyclists have to be very aware of their surroundings and potential hazards. Drivers are responsible to drive defensively and to not endanger others.

RIP young lady. Hopefully, the driver will be caught.

People, be aware. Don't have self-induced tunnel vision.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Anyone not prepared to deal with that really should reconsider driving in Japan.

I refuse to drive in Japan, even though I have lived here a long time and have lots of money.

It's not necessarily fair,

That's a massive understatement. It's grossly unfair. One side is automatically and completely exempted of liability, regards of responsibility. What a legal concept!

My suspicion is that the one-sidedness is designed to make the jobs of the cops, prosecutors and judges all the easier. We all know how the authorities here can't cope with "confusion," i.e. subtlety or ambiguity. Well, expect plenty more hit and runs in the future as long as this legal concept exists.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Not downplaying the death of this woman or anyone else but this is getting so repettitive in the news that I am growing numb to it. It really is a shame that this happens anywhere but as stated more times than I can count Japan needs to stop this nonsense of it always being the drivers fault. Maybe, just maybe people will stop if they knew the situation would be investigated instead of the automatic "it's your fault" attitude.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Traffic Cameras & video ? In Japan there are so many blind corners !!!!! I don't know the details of the accident. But slowing down helps when driving & taking street corners.

But people speed and drive careless in Japan. Soooooo things like this will happen all the time.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Unfortunately, another possibility is that the driver had been drinking. Since they toughened the penalties for DUI, there have been numerous cases n the news of drivers whose reason for hitting and running was fear of being charged with DUI.

In a couple of cases I remember, the drivers turned themselves in the next day, after the alcohol had worn off and could be denied (if I recall correctly, it was discovered by subsequent investigation), so that they would not be charged with the DUI in addition to reckless driving, professional negligence resulting in injury, etc.

In some other cases, when police investigators found them, the perpetrators claimed fear of DUI prosecution on top of causing injury/death as their motivation for fleeing.

I don't have any figures on before and after, but I've seen a couple of news investigation/analysis programs that did some delving into the "be careful what you ask for" aspect of the DUI penalties leading to increased hit&run frequency.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What is Police going to do with the fragment to find the car?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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