TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 23-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture who allegedly crashed a “fake unmarked police car” while driving drunk in Nerima Ward late last year, reports TBS News (May 22).
Ren Nakamura, who is from Toda City, Saitama, stands accused of driving under the influence, causing a collision and injuring his female passenger over the incident, which took place early on December 21.
According to police, Nakamura had been drinking at his part-time workplace and asked his girlfriend to pick him up. Once she arrived, however, Nakamura took the wheel of the illegally modified vehicle himself.
Just moments before the crash, Nakamura was reportedly mimicking a police officer on an emergency run. Using a loudspeaker system, he announced, “Emergency vehicle, turning left on a red light,” before brazenly blasting through a red traffic signal.
In connection with the incident, officers also arrested 22-year-old Yoshito Mashimo on suspicion of violating the Road Transport Vehicle Act.
Mashimo is accused of performing the illegal modifications at Nakamura’s request, outfitting the passenger car with a working siren and the red flashing lights typically used by undercover police cruisers.
