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Three people were killed and two others injured when a station wagon plunged from the fifth level of a multi-story parking in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
According to police, the incident occurred just before 1 p.m. at the parking facility about 800 meters from Yokosuka Chuo Station. Fuji TV reported that witnesses said the vehicle backed through a 1.2-meter-high iron fence on the fifth level and crashed onto the street 15 meters below upside down.
Police believe the driver may have mistakenly pressed the accelerator while parking the car.
Three passengers -- Kazuhiko Nojima, 56, his wife Akiko, 46, and his mother Hiroko, 81 -- were pronounced dead at a hospital. The couple's two children, Naoto, 16, and Haruto, 11, who were also in the car, suffered injuries but are in a stable condition in hospital.
The police suspect the driver made some error when parking the vehicle, and while backing up broke through a 1.2-meter-high fence before plunging 13 meters to ground around 12:50 p.m.
© Japan Today
20 Comments
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SenseNotSoCommon
Scary that a fence so high up on a car park wasn't strong enough to stop a car. RIP to the deceased, and let's all be safe out there.
良いお年を
sensei258
But they won't say who was driving and hit the gas instead of the brake
heatherin78
A group of American military and Japanese civilians all grouped together to tip the car back over. The car was just crushed, I am shocked that anyone lived. Such a sad situation.
A.N. Other
It would need speed to bust through an iron fence; it doesn't fold like rice paper. Whoever was driving must have gunned the engine to crash through.
bluenote1
This incident leaves a few questions unanswered. To crash through an iron fence would need a firm pressure on the gas pedal - in reverse? So was this driverunused to an automatic car, or was this a depressed man becoming suicidal? We'll have to see what transpires.
Strangerland
They just showed it on the news. There was a 30ish cm lip, with a fence above that. They plowed over the lip and through the fence. Poor kids lost their parents and grandma all at once.
Strangerland
The car was crushed. I'm not sure that seatbelts would matter.
gokai_wo_maneku
Two boys orphaned. I hope there is someone to take care of them.
thetoleratedone
Because brake and go are different pedal All cars in Jpan are auto for robot people
Brian Wheway
Is the car crash going to be investigated to see what the cause was? did the accelerator get pressed by mistake? did it get stuck? brake failure? either way crashing and falling from 5 levels up is a long way to fall.
Shingollira
What was wrong with the driver?! It's a miracle that at least those young passengers survived. Prayers for those who died and their families.
Jonathan Prin
How possible that you build car parks with fence instead of walls in upper levels ? That is prone accident design ! RIP and good luck to kids for their recovery.
Joe Duncan
SO sad for these kids too lose their father, mother and grandma all at once. No words can help
Mirai Hayashi
this never seizes to amaze me. The accelerator pedal on a car with an automatic transmission is much smaller, different shape and at a different height from the brake pedal. Also if you are backing in or out of a parking space, you shouldn't be gunning either one of this pedals...still don't understand how something like this could happen unless your REALLY suck at driving
sensei258
The understatement of 2016
But no mention of even the age or sex of the driver, why?
Jungi Hirai
Mirai-San, I just had to register with Japan Times to comment in your post. You should know that this tragedy happens quite often, with the driver thinking that that he/she is pressing on the brake instead of the accelerator. It's not that "your suck at driving" When the person realizes within the first second that they are moving instead of stopping, he or she presses even harder on the pedal, resulting in the high acceleration when panic takes over and the brain goes into instinct mode. It could happen in a moment of distraction, and to anybody, according to the statistics. The newer quiet cars also make it harder to know that the engine is revving and that the accelerator is being pressed to the floor. So sad for the family.
sensei258
Who was driving? Or are you purposely not naming him because pointing out that their mistake killed and injured people is too embarrassing to the one who did it?
Brian Wheway
Sparkysantos, your point about cars going into reverse and suddenly accelerating this from a standing start? or whilst going forward it goes into reverse? some years ago Toyota had a large recall on certain cars as they had problems with the accelerator peddles. I think that problem has now been sorted out, so I would suggest this is down to driver error.
Sparky Santos
Something is happening with new Toyotas and unintentional reverse at speed ... we had two similar incidents in my extended family with Lexus RX350s months apart in California.
That car's black box needs looking into.
Bill Morris
Seatbelt ?