Woman dies after being hit by man falling down station staircase

Sure hope he wasn't using a cell phone or something when he lost his footing.

Although I know what you mean smithers, I myself am clumsy as hell and even without a phone now and then manage to miss a step. So lets not draw any hasty conclusions other than that it's a very sad incident.

papigiulio: of course it's entirely possible he was not -- and if you're in a throng of people all exiting the train and hitting the stairs at the same time it's easy to lose your balance because the people around you may be indirectly forcing you to move at a different speed and lose your balance.

Sure hope he wasn't using a cell phone or something when he lost his footing

Playing the odds, it'd be more likely at 62-year-old was happoushued up, but this is all idle speculation.

how dont you see someone falling on you from top of stairs...?

It's normal to investigate... But accident is the most likely. I've fallen in stairs, a lot (and I never use my phone, I don't drink nor do drugs, it's natural boke). I 've seen others fall too. Only once in 10 000 times, somebody is hurt. That woman, she is the 1 in 10 million case when the head bumps into a stair and the person dies.

accidents happen. serverl thousand people fall in the shower or bath and die every year. There does not have to "circumstances leading up to the incident."

how dont you see someone falling on you from top of stairs...?

If you have your back to them, walking down the stairs?

accidents happen. serverl thousand people fall in the shower or bath and die every year. There does not have to "circumstances leading up to the incident."

agreed, but what makes this accident newsworthy out of several thousand ?

Will be very interesting to see the results of the investigation and the cause of him falling. We can only speculate what really happened. Right now we just have to give the benefit of the doubt to him and believe he really just lost his footing. But if he was one of those typical in a rush Salarymen that barge people out of the way, I wonder if he would get done for manslaughter?

Alex EinzApr. 18, 2013 - 03:56PM JST how dont you see someone falling on you from top of stairs...?

Even if you see them it doesn't mean you have many options in terms of getting out the way, especially at age 60 when leaping to safety isn't on the cards.

Honestly it seems that there's some critical information missing from this article. Why should the police take an interest in a case where it seems like there was no criminal intent? The old guy slipped and fell, it was unfortunate that it was in a public space and he fell into someone else, and that person subsequently died, but this is hardly a crime or matter for the police.

accidents happen. serverl thousand people fall in the shower or bath and die every year. There does not have to "circumstances leading up to the incident."

agreed, but what makes this accident newsworthy out of several thousand ?

Because this isn't your typical accident. How often have you heard about someone falling down the stairs onto another person and killing them?

weird...most people don't die from that unless preexisting condition...or breaking their necks

I was wondering if the train company or that man who accidentally caused the woman's death would be financially responsible. A sorry accident of course. RIP

how dont you see someone falling on you from top of stairs.

Must be a tweenager huh?

How many senior citizens do YOU see walking up stairs, especially in a train station, looking up as they ascend the staircase? Typically elderly people focus on the stairs.

Jack Stern: I was wondering if the train company or that man who accidentally caused the woman's death would be financially responsible.

Why would the train company be responsible, unless he was on one of those really worn staircases where the edges are rounded from use and can be quite slippery?

Officers are continuing to question the man in order to establish the circumstances leading up to the incident.

OMG...... It's a Accident... Not everything in that happens in the world is someone's fault... Accidents Happen... Hence, the name "Accident!"

RIP to the women, it's very unfortunate.

The stairs at Fujisawa Station are not passenger friendly.

Chin4Sailor: Not everything in that happens in the world is someone's fault... Accidents Happen... Hence, the name "Accident!"

Sorry to be pedantic but just because the word "accident" is used it does not mean no one is at fault, generally speaking. I've no idea for this particular incident. The fact that the police are questioning the man doesn't mean he'll be held liable but either way, why would you have a problem with them doing their jobs? What happened was somewhat unusual, particularly in it resulting in someone's death. I'd think they'd be negligent in their duties if they didn't question him.

Tragic. I hate steps myself. If there's an escalator I'll take it, and stay on the left so people can walk/run/stumble up or down on the right.

Just very unlucky,Wrong place at the wrong time!!!!

what makes this accident newsworthy out of several thousand ?

The absence of bigger news in headlines.

Eki stairs often are divided into the "up" side and the "down" side. Add to that the fact that many go down the up side and up the down side, and you will realize how easy it would be (especially during high traffic periods) to be hit by somebody without ever seeing them.

The absence of bigger news in headlines.

No actually there is plenty of other "bigger" news in the headlines, it's a matter of choice.

a primary accident and a secondary accident!

The government needs to require teachers to present safety lessons and to put public announcement information on TV that show people what to do when someone falls on an escalator. It is very simple-push the red stop bottom at the bottom or the top of the stairs or on the platform. It is the same concept as the stop button at the local train station.

makes this accident newsworthy out of several thousand ?

Because dying after being knocked down by someone falling down a flight of stairs at a train station is so incredibly unusual. Being unusual is a failry common benchmark for things that are reported as news.

I'm surprised and saddened to hear she died -- all over a simple slip on the stairs. The man has got to feel awful, which in itself of course is also awful.

@noriyosan73 although what you say about escalator safety may be true, in this case it was the stairs, not an escalator.

Particularly at rush hour, but also at other times, station staircases can be dangerous. Often they're slippery, sometimes the anti-slip material is worn or missing, sometimes other passengers are in a hurry and jostle someone at just the wrong time.

Many years ago, I was going down a long station staircase when a small kid suddenly darted across the step just below and in front of me. Trying to avoid stepping on him, I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs. I ended up with a deep puncture wound in my elbow (apparently from the corner of a step) that narrowly missed severing nerves or major veins. It was lucky, though, regardless of the stitches and long healing time that were required, because had I fallen into someone below me as the person in the article did, I might very well have injured them badly, or even contributed to throwing them in front of a train at the platform below.

I wasn't pleased at the outcome, or with the child, but even at the time I was relieved that I hadn't injured anyone but myself. If that sort of accident happens above and behind you on the stairs, there's not a lot that you can do to avoid it.

@smithinjapan I agree completely; I feel very fortunate to have avoided such a horrible fate myself, and have sympathy for both the victim who died and for the man who unwittingly caused her death.