Mother of 24-year-old victim laments: “I am making a mockery of my daughter’s life.
Exactly eight years after the accident, the perpetrator was sentenced to a mere three and a half years in prison for manslaughter.
It has been eight years since that day ……. This year, too, I joined hands at the scene of the accident at the time of the accident,” she said.
I joined hands at the scene of the accident again this year,” said Tomonori Kawamoto, 51, who lives in Osaka Prefecture.
The accident occurred on May 11, 2003, in Amerika-mura (Chuo Ward) in Osaka City. Kawamoto’s eldest daughter Keika, then 24, a nurse, was riding her bicycle when she was suddenly struck by a car driving the wrong way on a one-way street.
Her daughter was hit on the head by the assailant’s tire and died almost instantly. My heart stopped after I came face to face with the body, which looked completely different from the one before her death,” said Tomonori.
The assailant, then 25, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Automobile Driving Punishment Law (negligent homicide), and 0.25 mg of alcohol, exceeding the legal limit, was detected in her breath.
According to her statement, after parking her car in a parking lot, she bought a 500㎖ can of beer at a convenience store, drank three to four draft beers at a restaurant she went to with a friend, and then bought a cocktail at a convenience store. The security camera recorded him walking around quite drunk.
The accident occurred shortly thereafter.
In her statement, the woman said, “I drove the car while intoxicated.
As a result, however, she was not charged with “dangerous driving causing death or injury,” which is a serious crime. The Osaka District Court found that she had been drinking, but sentenced her to three and a half years in prison on the lesser charge of “negligent driving causing death or injury. The prosecution appealed, but the high court dismissed the case on the grounds that “even a driver who had not been drinking could have made the same mistake.” In October 2005, the sentence became final.
Tomonori expresses her frustration.
I feel as if my daughter’s life is being mocked. I was so frustrated. I don’t understand how the court can make this kind of decision when so many bereaved families have complained about the dangers of drunken accidents and even changed the law. This is not ‘justice’ but ‘death law.
The crime of “dangerous driving resulting in death or bodily injury” was newly established in the 2001 amendment of the Penal Code in response to the demands of bereaved families for harsher penalties for malicious accidents. Those who cause injury to a person while under the influence of alcohol are punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years, and those who cause death are punishable by imprisonment for a term of one year or more. However, as in this case, there are quite a few cases in which a driver who causes a fatal accident is not charged with “Dangerous Driving Causing Death or Injury.
Attorney Ichiro Fujimoto, an expert on traffic accident issues, said, “‘Dangerous driving manslaughter’ is a crime that can result in death or serious injury to a driver.
The requirements for the crime of manslaughter by dangerous driving are strictly defined, and it is very difficult to convict a driver of the crime. Prosecutors and judges are very cautious about prosecuting and convicting people even if it is true that they drank alcohol and caused a serious accident. This is quite out of line with the public’s perception. If you are a victim of an accident, it is important to take action, such as appealing to the prosecutor, as soon as possible.
The day before the accident was Mother’s Day. Keika said that she had planned to treat Tomonori to a celebratory meal.
On Mother’s Day, my friends send me flowers and other gifts to make me smile. But as a mother, I blame myself every day, thinking that if I had acted in this way at that time, the trial would have gone in a better direction,” said Tomonori.
The perpetrator has long since been released from prison. However, there has been no direct apology to the bereaved family. The accident that took the life of her beloved daughter continues to torment Yuki even eight years later.
From the June 2, 2023 issue of FRIDAY
Interview and text： Mika Yanagihara (Journalist)
