High school girl killed, likely after being dragged 5 km by car

If he knew nothing about the girl underneath his car while he was driving it, how did he find out she was under his car when he stopped driving it?

Hard for me to imagine any scenario where a competent driver would not realize a human body was under the car.

Rest in Peace to the poor girl.

Unless the girl was lying under the car at the time, there is no other explanation for this tragedy other than gross negligence on the part of yet another elderly driver. Jail time will be absolutely needed.

No words!

The driver, 72, reported to the police around at 6:10 p.m. Friday that he found the girl stuck underneath his car after hearing a strange sound while driving in Ibaraki Prefecture.

OK, because the normal thing t do after hearing a strange sound from your car is checking on it 5KM later.

They are questioning the man on a voluntary basis.

Would be nice to know conditions for the police changing mode to questioning "on a voluntary basis".

They are questioning the man on a voluntary basis.

Must be somebody of note. And definitely not foreign.

A horror story for her family.

"They are questioning the man on a voluntary basis."

Cash Money Millionaire.

Hopefully she didn't die slowly during the 5 km dragging.

Absolutely horrible and disturbingly similar to this just a couple of weeks ago.

Always good to assume the truck won't see you when you're cycling. Stay well clear.

https://newsonjapan.com/article/140388.php

@John

Unless he did it deliberately, it’s not murder.

It could be called vehicular manslaughter or death by dangerous driving.

“It is believed that the high school student was dragged for about 9 kilometers after being hit by a car, but since there was no noticeable damage to the car other than the bumper, police believe that the high school student had been lying on the road before being hit.” - NHK

What a sad event. Drivers in Mito and surrounding cities are the worst.

5kms? Imagine the blood trail dragging a poor teenage girls body underneath a car. There are no other drivers noticing that something was under the 72yr old's car while driving, or perhaps they noticed and just ignored it like its none of their business?

Just an update on this. Police are saying that the 72 year old driver's car had no damage to the front bumper, bonnet (hood) or windscreen, however underneath was obviously damaged. They are thinking that the high school girl had already fallen down on the road before being dragged by his car. Maybe she was struck by another car at first.

Doesn't excuse his actions though. I can't imagine not noticing someone trapped under my car!

There is no way you are going drive a car with a body stuck under it and not notice.

Period. Unless its a truck.

Come on....

Jesus, what a horrible way to die.

Let’s hope the impact knocked her unconscious.

Stephen ChinToday  06:22 am JST

If he knew nothing about the girl underneath his car while he was driving it, how did he find out she was under his car when he stopped driving it?

It clearly stated:

he found the girl stuck underneath his car after hearing a strange sound while driving

It's also a very short article.

Unbelieveble

Not even in the movies

My dog, I cannot imagine anything so horrible as this, and especially what she might have been going through. My sincere condolences to all her family, I hope they can get help to deal with this tragedy to the young girl.

This is horrifying.

That poor girl.

May her soul Rest In Peace.

Many cameras over 5km, thus perp(s) will be brought justice soon.

Not many cameras on that countryside road.

SeriouslyCreamy

Just an update on this. Police are saying that the 72 year old driver's car had no damage to the front bumper, bonnet (hood) or windscreen, however underneath was obviously damaged. They are thinking that the high school girl had already fallen down on the road before being dragged by his car. Maybe she was struck by another car at first.

If she was already lying in the road, I hope they do a thorough enough investigation to find the point at which this car began to drag her. Then, they can hopefully find CCTV footage to figure out why she was in the road. And, if she was hit by another car first, use CCTV and mobile phone telemetry to identify the culprit.

But, to not notice a body lying on the road in front of you, and to then drag it for 5 - 9km (depending on report), is pretty damn negligent driving on this guy's part, and should be liable for some consequence.

How in the Earth's Blue Sky do you NOT notice a body being dragged under your car????

And HOW DO OTHER DRIVERS NOT SEE IT UNDER YOUR CAR EITHER??!!

This just does not sound even remotely feasible.

just takes one camera, many cars have cameras, police contacting those with cellphones in this area who were driving at approximately same time. Likely road has at least one camera somewhere, even on private property.

Perp(s) will be brought to justice, can bet the house on it.

Even if there were a camera it won't show the teenage girl under the car.

The driver is fully responsible for this dreadful accident and should be prosecuted to the full. The drag must have some effect on the performance of the car.

Stephen ChinToday 06:22 am JST

If he knew nothing about the girl underneath his car while he was driving it, how did he find out she was under his car when he stopped driving it?

Sometimes while driving you might hear a strange sound. If the sound doesn't persist or you see that it hasn't affected the car as far as you know or if you are not in a safe place to stop, etc, you might brush it off and wait until you get home. It has happened to me several times, the most notable being once when driving from Upstate New York to the City. When I got home, I checked around the car and there was only a strong unmistakable smell of a skunk, no body. Not trying to defend this guy but I think there could be that possibility, and think of his horror at seeing and realizing what he had just done. Poor girl. RIP. It sounds like a tragic accident.

Impossible to say what camera will or will not see, depends upon so many variables, but someone of adult age is not small and so I would remain very optimistic that the police will figure this one out soon. Bet on it!

The police have not charged him with anything, and he has submitted to voluntary questioning. And this article is not in the Crime section.

Do they think this could be an extreme example of innocent obtuseness, where they guy did all the right things, legally speaking, but only after much slow mental struggling?

RedemptionFeb. 11  06:48 am JST

Hard for me to imagine any scenario where a competent driver would not realize a human body was under the car.

If he heard something strange he should've pulled over and stopped. Even if he is age 72 he ought to notice something was wrong. You could 'sense' it.