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A three-year-old boy died after he was hit by a car driven by his father in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Sho Sato told police he had been out driving with his son Yutaka, Fuji TV reported. When they arrived home, Yutaka got out of the car. As he was about to park the car, Sato said he hit his son who had apparently gone ahead of the car.
Yutaka was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and died about an hour later.
Sato told police he did not see his son move in front of the car.
© Japan Today
16 Comments
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BlackFlagCitizen
Why is your child exiting the car before you park?
puregaijin
Very sad to hear......... AGAIN!!!!!!
What’s going on!!! Aren’t people reading/hearing the news and being more careful???
if it’s in JT, it’s surely in the local media. The technology is available to deal with such situations and looks like it needs to be made mandatory before the next kid gets hurt. I won’t be surprised if it was a family car. These have huge blind sectors.
Belrick
Common sense says you do not let your 3 year old out of your vehicle until you've parked! Sitting here in a car park outside a store, and I'm disgusted just how many parents walk to their cars, kids 10 feet behind them!
Strangerland
They do. When both my kids were born the local city hall and ward office had ママの教室, which taught basic parenting. Talking to my friends overseas it seems such programs are not always available in other countries. Japan is quite forward and social in this regard.
Ramzel
I don’t get it. I comment the same way every time this happens. Even when my kid is getting older I would never move my car without knowing where they are. It boggles the mind.
And in parking lots hold kids’ hands... why is that so hard?
gogogo
Why do they not teach basic parenting in Japan? If you cannot see you kids do not move your car!
maybeperhapsyes
Father must be beside himself with grief.
I wouldn't wish this on anybody. I hope he can move on.
RIP wee boy.
Do the hustle
I would say that it is pretty obvious he didn’t see his kid in front of the car. Carelessness kills! A sad ending to a day out with his son.
Spidey
I can probably assume that the child was in the back seat and not properly restrained as is the common practice here. Therefore allowing the child to freely exit the car while the "unaware" father continued to park.
Tragic but preventable.
S
lesenfant
Child seat belt? Child proof doors locked?
How do these parents continue after killing their children?
Ex_Res
This kind of accident happens a lot more than you think. More often than not it is only reported if the child dies.
Each time I say the same thing. Sensor technology could be the answer to decreasing this kind of accident.
smithinjapan
I’m not even going to read the article and just guess either the kid was waiting outside while the car pulled out and dad didn’t see him, or the kid and family got out while dad was pulling into the drive way and dad didn’t see him. Either way, this has become a near-daily occurrence that has GOT to stop! Get in the car before pulling out, or after pulling in and shutting the car off. RIP to the boy, and a horrible way for the parents to learn a little common sense.
sensei258
your complacency killed your child