TOCHIGI (TR) – A 46-year-old man died after his vehicle was struck by another car being chased by police in Utsunomiya City, police revealed last week, reports Fuji News Network (May 8).
At around 3:20 a.m. on May 6, the vehicle driven by Tatsuya Kudo, a company employee, was struck head-on by the second vehicle, driven by Hayato Kawamata, 22, after it crossed over the center line of on National Route 4 and into the opposite lane of traffic.
Kudo, who suffered severe injuries over his body, later died at a hospital. Kawamata suffered a broken leg. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old male acquaintance in the passenger seat suffered serious injuries to the abdomen and remains unconscious, the Utsunomiya-Minami Police Station said.
Prior the accident, a patrol car spotted Kawamata’s vehicle moving in a suspicious way as it left a convenience store parking lot. After the patrol car sounded its siren in ordering Kawamata to stop, he fled.
Over the subsequent chase, Kawabata ignored red lights at intersections and traveled at speeds that exceed 100 kilometers per hour.
According to police, the results of an analysis of the breath of Kawabata gave a positive result for alcohol. However, the degree that it exceeded the the standard value was not revealed.
“At present, we believe that there was no problem regarding the pursuit,” a representative of the Tochigi Prefectural Police was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun (May 6).
