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Tokyo cops: Man wanted in fatal hit-and-run found hanged in park

in Itabashi Ward
A 48-year-old man was wanted in a fatal hit-and-run incident in Itabashi Ward in April (Twitter)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police believe that a 48-year-old man wanted in a fatal hit-and-run incident in the capital last month committed suicide by hanging himself, reports Nikkan Sports (May 30).

At around 11:20 p.m. on April 25, the man, a company employee from Saitama Prefecture, is believed to have been driving the vehicle that struck and killed Eiichi Hashimoto, a 50-year-old corporate officer, at an intersection in the Komone area of Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward.

Based on eyewitness reports and an examination of security camera footage, police sought the man for questioning. On April 27, police interrogated him about the case. “I was at the scene of the accident when it happened, but I did not cause it,” he told police at the time. He then dropped out of contact.

On May 10, police obtained a warrant for his arrest after an examination of data from a car navigation system and other information. Seven days later, the man was found hanged from a tree in a park in Saitama City, Saitama in what is being treated as a suicide.

Police plan to send papers on the man to prosecutors on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and violating the Road Traffic Act regarding a hit-and-run incident.