A six-month-old girl was in a state of cardiac arrest after a minivan collided head-on with a truck in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, on Monday.
The accident occurred at around 10 a.m. on a prefectural road running through a residential area near Totsuka-Angyo Station, NHK reported.
According to reports from the police and the fire department, the baby was in the minivan with the 36-year-old male driver and a 36-year-old woman, presumed to be the parents. All three and the 23-year-old truck driver were taken to hospital.
Police said witnesses told them the collision occurred on a gently curving road.
Police believe one of the vehicles crossed over the center line but did not say which one.
© Japan Today
5 Comments
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Mr Kipling
I hope they had the baby in a correct baby seat and not held on the mothers lap to use as a mini human airbag as so many do in Japan.
USNinJapan2
Mr. Kipling
I think your fears are justified. You can see from the accident photos online that the minivan was actually a full sized ten passenger van. The damage is limited only to the front of the van so if the infant had been properly restrained facing backwards in a child seat in the second row of seats it's highly unlikely that it would've been injured at all. Like you, I suspect the mother was holding the infant in her lap and it was launched into the dashboard or windshield upon impact. We all know that "a state of cardiac arrest" is what they say when the death was caused by other fatal trauma injuries.
USNinJapan2
There was no child seat installed in the van. The infant ended up under the rear seat and wasn't breathing following the accident. Regardless of who was responsible for the collision, the parent(s) should be made to face the music.
https://youtu.be/z8Kb4HDsMbY?si=26NDo9oDto2LIDmL
3RENSHO
At 1min 13sec of the informative video posted by USNinJapan2, the HiAce number plate is visible, showing a single digit [1]. Many of the comments on Youtube mention the fact that drivers with so-called 'vanity plates' are often speeding or otherwise disregarding traffic rules. The other vehicle involved, a Mitsubishi Fuso 'Canter' 1.5 tonne is reportedly operated by a foreign-owned demolition company located in Misato City.
himawari23
Sadly the news is reporting that the infant was being held by the mother. Thankfully they are also stressing the importance of child seats. I pray the baby makes it.