Press "Enter" to skip to content

Hyogo cops: Motorcyclist cut in half by cable after police chase in Kobe

The body of a motorcyclist was cut in half during a collision with a wire of a utility pole in Kobe on Wednesday
The body of a motorcyclist was cut in half during a collision with a wire of a utility pole in Kobe on Wednesday

HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police announced on Wednesday that a male motorcyclist was cut in half by a cable following a high-speed chase in Kobe early Wednesday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Oct. 12).

At around 8 a.m., officers from the Nagata Police Station began pursuing a motorcyclist, believed to be aged in his 20s, who had been exceeding the speed limit on National Route 2 in Nagata Ward. After attempting to flee, the motorcyclist collided with another motorcycle driven by a woman, 25, in the opposite direction.

The collision sent the man into a support cable for an electric pole. The impact severed his body, killing him instantly. The upper-half of his body subsequently cleared a two-meter fence before landing on the tracks of the Sanyo Electric Railway while the lower-half ended up on a sidewalk.

The incident caused services on railway to be delayed for one hour and 20 minutes, inconveniencing approximately 10,000 passengers.

The female motorcyclist was transported to nearby hospital with an injury to her left foot.

According to police, the motorcyclist had been exceeding the speed limit by 33 kilometers per hour when the chase began. Prior to the collision, the pursuit had been suspended after the motorcyclist significantly increased his speed.

“We consider the pursuit to have been necessary,” the vice chief of the Nagata Police Station is quoted by Sports Nippon (Oct. 13).

Police are now working to confirm the identity of the male motorcyclist.