‘I thought I hit a telephone pole’…Patrol 4 hit-and-run fatally injured man ‘drunk at 2 taverns’ Serious lie to shopkeeper

I’m sure I caused the accident and drove away, but I thought I hit an electric pole or something. I was not aware that I had hit anyone. I don’t think it was a hit-and-run.

On January 16, interviews with the Sankei Shimbun and Kyodo News revealed that the man had been drinking at two Japanese-style pubs just before the accident. There is a strong possibility that he was in a drunken state.

The accident occurred on a city street in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, just after 11:30 a.m. on December 27, 2011. The suspect, Yasuyuki Inoki, 49, a construction worker living in the city, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Automobile Driving Punishment Law (negligent homicide) and the Road Law (hit-and-run). He allegedly hit four men, all in their 40s, who were on night patrol, with the car he was driving, killing two and slightly injuring two others. The suspect, Inoki, drove away without taking appropriate action.

Eight men from the local neighborhood association were on patrol. The city street at the scene was one lane on each side and about 6 m wide, and the eight men formed a double line and appealed to residents in the neighborhood to beware of fires, etc. The suspect’s car was behind the patrol car. The suspect’s car approached the patrol at a high rate of speed from behind, and is believed to have hit the four men one after another. The suspect, Inoki, appears to have been asleep at the wheel.

The two who died were the two who were walking at the rear of the car. The autopsy revealed that both men had broken bones in their heads. They must have been hit hard from the head to the ground by the impact of being hit. There were no brake marks at the scene, so it is believed that the driver did not slow down and hit the four people.

The morning after the accident, the driver put on his work clothes and went to work.

The day after the accident, police found a sports-type utility vehicle (SUV), which closely resembled the getaway car caught on multiple security cameras, in the parking lot of a house about 700 meters from the scene. The owner was the suspect, Inoki.

Inoki denied some of the charges, saying, “I thought I hit a utility pole. However, there is no utility pole near the accident site. At the time of his arrest, he had not even apologized to the victim. The morning after the accident, Inoki was seen heading to work in his work clothes.

Inoki admitted that he had been drinking just before the accident, but since his arrest was made late at night on December 28, nearly a full day after the accident, no alcohol was detected in his breath test. The key point in the investigation will be whether the charge of manslaughter by dangerous driving, which carries a heavier penalty and is based on the assumption that the suspect is aware of the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, can be applied.

According to the police, it is known that around 8:00 p.m. on the day of the accident, Inoki entered his favorite izakaya alone. He drank about four draft beers and highballs in total and left the restaurant after 10 pm. Inoki apparently drank alcohol at one more izakaya, causing the accident.

The testimony of the owner of the first izakaya also reveals a serious lie by Inoki. When the owner asked Inoki if he had come by car, he denied it. The next morning, he received a phone call from the suspect saying, ‘I hit a telephone pole on my way home. When the owner asked if it was a person, he explained that it was an electric pole.

The police are investigating the details of the situation, such as the amount of alcohol Inoki had consumed and its effect on his driving, by interviewing the izakaya.