Fatal Hit-and-Run of a 40-Year-Old Company Executive’s Rampage After Consuming About 14 Shots of Tequila and Shochu at Girls’ Bar

“There was a hit-and-run. A man was found collapsed in the street covered in blood.”

The police received a 110 emergency call shortly after midnight on June 8th.

On the same day, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Takanogawa Station arrested Eiji Imai (40), a company executive residing in Adachi Ward, on suspicion of violation of the Act on Punishment of Acts Inflicting Death or Injury by Driving (negligent driving resulting in death) and violation of the Road Traffic Act (hit-and-run). Our magazine’s photographer captured the scene of his referral for prosecution. Imai, with a brazen expression, glared at the photographer.

“The accident site is a local road in Higashi-Tabata, Kita Ward. A man in his 50s who was attempting to cross the road on foot was hit by a car and thrown approximately 5 meters. Covered in blood and collapsed, the man was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was confirmed dead two and a half hours later. Surveillance cameras captured a white light vehicle speeding well above the legal limit.” (National newspaper social affairs reporter)

An hour later, he returned to the scene by cab.

Imai, who was driving a white sedan at high speed, fled the scene immediately after the accident and promptly called a friend for advice. He was urged to surrender and returned to the scene by taxi about an hour later.

“Suspect Imai reportedly told investigators examining the accident scene that he caused the accident. He collided with a pedestrian, panicked, and fled. He also confessed to drinking alcohol from around 7 p.m. the previous evening until shortly before midnight on the day of the accident, spanning about 5 hours.

During voluntary questioning before his arrest, he stated that at a girls’ bar, he had 7-8 shots of tequila and 5-6 glasses of shochu, totaling around 14 drinks. He was heavily intoxicated, became reckless, caused the accident, panicked suddenly, and fled out of fear of being caught.” (Same Source)

According to Fuji Television’s ‘FNN Prime Online,’ the car Imai was driving was borrowed, and he was returning it to the female owner that day. Imai’s breath test detected 0.52 milligrams of alcohol per liter, which is over three times the legal limit. It is reported that due to this intoxication, he misjudged the following distance and was unable to apply the brakes immediately.