A man was killed after his car was hit by a train Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Thursday morning.
The car was hurled into a power pole and burst into flames, while the first carriage of the train was derailed as a result of the impact, Fuji TV reported. Four people on the train were taken to hospital with light injuries. There were about 280 people on the six-carriage train.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 6:55 a.m. on the JR Tokaido line. The driver of the train was quoted by police as saying he saw the car on the crossing and applied the emergency brake but could not stop in time.
The crossing gates were down at the time and police are trying to determine why the car stopped on the crossing. The driver was killed instantly and the car completely destroyed by the fire.
A witness to the crash said it looked like something out of an action movie.
As of 1 p.m., JR said services had still not resumed on the line.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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sensei258
Maybe he was in a hurry to get to work, or coming home after a night out. In any case, a horrible way to go.
Fapster
suicide cannot be ruled out.
Alex Einz
what a bastard endangering other in this manner
Disillusioned
Yeah, I wouldn't rule out suicide either, but I've also seen many foolish drivers pushing the limits of luck getting across a crossing before the gates come down.
Poor English Speaker
I saw short video and some pictures of that accident. The car was no longer car, it was just like a chunk of iron due to the fire. When it comes to the driver's fault for the accident and if he were still alive, he would have been sentenced to pay for tremendous amount of the compensation for JR. Ah, I don't wanna think about it.
sensei258
I saw the video too. That car burst into flames as soon as it was hit, and it split open and wrapped itself around a concrete pole.
Maria
Poor guy. I hope he didn't have time to know what was coming.
smithinjapan
I have a hard time believing it was an accident and the guy made no effort to get out of his car, and with it being the end of the fiscal year and suicides at peak every year this time of year, I would not be surprised if it were intentional.
Kobe White Bar Owner
anyone got a link to the video pls
sensei258
Sorry, I watched it on the train's news monitor
A.N. Other
For a country which prizes itself on 'meiwaku', Japanese are surprisingly ostentatious in the way they take their own lives. Why don't they just head off into the sticks, finish a bottle of brandy, and put their neck on the line? All this melodrama is so undignified.
edojin
Saw the accident on TV, too. The train was traveling at high speed when it zapped the car, so surely the driver never knew what happened. Instant death.
A.N. Other
My crystal ball tells me that anyone who valued their own life would, in the unlikely event of coming to a stop on the tracks, and if all else failed, abandon the car on the crossing and seek help.
pacint
Some people might do that, others might think about saving the car/investment first.
3RENSHO
A 43-year-old policeman, whom had been involved recently in some unspecified personal "trouble"...