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A man who attempted to flee from police in his car crashed into a parked vehicle and injured three pedestrians in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, police said Thursday.
According to police, the incident occurred just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. TBS quoted police as saying that the suspect made a right turn into a no-right turn street. A nearby patrol car ordered him to stop at once, but the suspect sped up and attempted to get away. The man crashed into another vehicle and hit three pedestrians.
The 75-year-old woman who was driving the car at the time of the collision was not injured, but the three pedestrians -- two men and one woman -- sustained minor injuries, police said.
The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Yuki Ishikawa, a resident of Yokosuka and a company employee. Ishikawa was quoted by police as saying he panicked when the patrol car approached him.
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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Oknosh
Not a one-way, but a no right turn. Could have been a no left turn, or a no-go straight even, or any of the above but only for trucks or at a certain time of day. Gee, I wonder how people get confused?
Disillusioned
I'm sorry to say it and I will probably receive many thumbs-down for it but, this is the result of the passive policing policies in Japan. People are not used to getting pulled over by the cops and the 'do' panic. I've been driving in Japan for over ten years and have been pulled over three times, all three were RBT, which wasted as much of their time as mine cos I don't drink (often). I grew up in Australia and would get pulled over at least once a month or more. If the police in Japan had a more regular presence this kind of stuff would not happen. The really crazy thing is, a lot of these runners actually believe they will get away. This guy is very lucky the people he hit were only slightly injured. It could very easily have become a lot worse for him and the innocent bystanders.
nath
Ridiculous. Trying to blame this on the police not pulling people over for no reason is like saying that less crime would happen if people were periodically locked up without reason by the police. Sure it's true, but it's not based in reality.
BurakuminDes
I'm glad the old woman and pedestrians were not seriously injured. And whilst I don't place any blame with the cops in this incident, I agree with Disillusioned that I'd love to see lots more RBT here. With the amount of drinking parties here - and 2nd and 3rd parties - many drivers simply don't realise they are over the legal alcohol limit commuting the next morning. It takes around an hour for one standard drink to leave ones system.
Actually in this case I expected to read about "loophole herbs" being found in his glovebox...
M3M3M3
I can understand how he might have panicked. It's instinctive to run away rather than stop when you get scared. Many people who have done nothing wrong run from the police.
I think part of the problem here might be the way in which police in Japan pull people over. They sound their 'air-raid' siren and immediately start yelling something completely inaudible over their loudspeaker. If they just followed behind you for a while and then flashed thier lights, it wouldn't be as intimidating or shocking for drivers... but of course, this is Japan where a police car with flashing lights behind you doesn't mean 'pull over'... for some reason... (what is the historical basis for this, I wonder?)
Pukey2
You don't normally flee if you've done nothing wrong.
Disillusioned
Strangerland - Maybe it's not based on 'your' reality, but it is based on reality on Japan. The cops are ghosts with a very irregular presence. Every time a local is questioned by the flops they panic. This contributes to a large amount of the innocent victim crimes in Japan. Yeah, the cops have a pretty bad reputation in Japan, nicker theft, up skirt photography, filming chicks in the bath, but that is a very small percentage of cops abusing their position. My experience with j-cops has always shown them to be kind and understanding. Something missing from other countries. However, if you wanna be an A-hole to them they will bite back. The policing policies if Japan are a double edged sword. On one hand, you have the hardened criminals on the look out for the cops. On the other hand, you have the majority of the population who have never even spoken to a cop and, if they have, it's been in an intimidatory manner. No wonder they panic! The cops are your friends. Not your enemies! - unless they are filming you taking a bath, of course.
Mike Wyckoff
Disillusioned,
I wish I could meet the cops that you have. Here in Kansai, they have ZERO compassion for honest mistakes. No warnings, just tickets.
I've been pulled over in canada doing more than 20 over and have been given a "warning", here I was fined $100 for going "girigiri o-ba-" even after I protested that the sign was covered with foliage. Anyways, I rant.
diane fears
Boy! I didn't know that Japan has so many DUI cases and how do folks in Japan drive. I wonder if your streets are like some of the streets here in America. Some of the street are so small that two cars can not pass each other without one going curb so. the car can pass .
nedinjapan
Disillusioned, I agree with half of what you are saying but not the other half! With so many pervert police in Japan, people may be right to panick when they know police has has excuse to press on them hard. However, if as you say, police do that more frequently, I guess only the pervy cases will fly up the roof, not that people will not get used to them though :-)