TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed that Hitomi Yoshizawa, a former member of all-girl idol group Morning Musume, admits to drinking more than three alcoholic drinks prior to her arrest for drunk driving last week, reports Fuji News Network (Sept. 12).
At around 7:00 a.m. on September 6, a vehicle driven by Yoshizawa ignored a red light and struck a woman pedaling a bicycle in Nakano Ward, causing her to fall. The woman then collided with a male pedestrian.
Police later arrested Yoshizawa on suspicion of drunk driving. During questioning, she admitted to drinking three cans of chuhai, which is a cocktail composed of the distilled spirit shochu.
However, she later acknowledged during further questioning that her consumption of alcohol was more than she initially stated. “I also drank other alcohol in addition to the cans of chu-hai,” she was quoted.
After the incident, Yoshizawa fled. About 15 minutes later, she telephoned police to report hitting the bicyclist and returned to the scene, where she was arrested on suspicion of drunk and dangerous driving and hit-and-run resulting in injury. Upon her arrest, she admitted to the allegations, police said.
A breath analysis conducted on Yoshizawa, 33, revealed 0.58 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air. The legal limit is 0.15 milligrams, meaning the former idol exceeded the figure by nearly four times, police said.
The woman and man suffered light injuries, police said.
The incident is not the first traffic-related problem for Yoshizawa. In September of last year, the idol was involved in an accident in which was driving on the wrong side of the road. In that case, a man in his 20s suffered light injuries.
