“Insane Speed” — Inside the Fatal High-Speed Porsche Crash and the Driver’s Shocking Claims

“He was overconfident in his driving skills and had a diminished awareness of the dangers of high-speed driving.”

“He was traveling at an abnormally excessive speed far beyond reason, an extremely malicious act.”

With these words, the presiding judge condemned the defendant and applied the charge of dangerous driving resulting in death.

On January 27, the Yokohama District Court sentenced Yoshiyuki Hikota (56), a company executive living in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, to 12 years in prison.

In August 2020, while driving a luxury sports car — a Porsche 911 GT2 RS — on the Bayshore Route of the Shuto Expressway in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Hikota crashed into a passenger car, killing a couple in their 60s and 70s who were inside. At the time of the accident, the Porsche had reached a speed of between 200 km/h and 268 km/h.

According to a reporter covering the judiciary for a national newspaper:

“During the trial, the prosecution argued that at speeds exceeding 200 km/h, even a slight steering input causes the vehicle to lean heavily, making control extremely difficult. They stated that when Hikota attempted to change lanes, the car skidded and violently collided with the victims’ vehicle, causing the fatal accident.

In contrast, Hikota claimed that the car had been stable until just before the crash and that he could control it even at high speed. He insisted the skid happened accidentally when he applied the brakes and that he had not been driving recklessly on purpose.

The court rejected his argument and applied the charge of dangerous driving resulting in death.”

FRIDAY Digital has been covering this unprecedented high-speed crash since the start of the trial. Looking back, we revisit what happened on the day two lives were lost and the defendant’s astonishing claims.

“I was not driving in a way that made control difficult”

The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. on a holiday in August 2020.

“The scene was a relatively straight three-lane road with good visibility. However, driving at more than three times the speed limit of 80 km/h is abnormal. Hikota is believed to have tried to overtake the victims’ car and collided with it at tremendous speed. The victims’ vehicle was reportedly traveling at roughly the speed limit.

The impact was enormous. The rear right side of the struck car was heavily damaged, and the woman who died was thrown outside the vehicle. The section of the expressway was closed to traffic for eight hours after the crash.” (National newspaper social affairs reporter)

In court, the prosecution and the defendant’s accounts sharply conflicted.

“The prosecution argued that driving at such a tremendous speed in itself was intended to obstruct the driving of others, and that the charge of dangerous driving resulting in death was therefore applicable. Meanwhile, defendant Hikota apologized, saying, ‘I am very sorry for causing a serious accident due to my significant speeding,’ but he partially denied the indictment, insisting that ‘I was not driving in a manner that was difficult to control.’ The defense, on the other hand, contended that rather than the more serious charge of dangerous driving causing death, the lighter charge of negligent driving causing death was appropriate.” (ibid.)

At the time of the accident, the defendant Hikota’s 19-year-old eldest son was in the Porsche with him. The prosecution pointed to the following as the extremely self-centered motive behind the reckless high-speed driving.

There were about five or six times

“I was thinking of showing the car’s performance to my son in the passenger seat and surprising him.”

Nonfiction writer Mika Yanagihara, who is well-versed in traffic accident issues, explains:

“Even if, as the defendant claims, there was no intent to obstruct, the fact that he was driving at that speed and was unable to avoid the car in front and collided with it allows it to be judged as difficult to control.

It is true that a Porsche may be able to run stably even at speeds over 200 km/h. However, being able to run stably does not justify driving at such a speed; it is an extremely selfish and dangerous act that ignores the flow of surrounding vehicles that are obeying the rules. The charge of dangerous driving resulting in death is appropriate.”

During the trial, the defendant Hikota also testified as follows:

“(At the time of the accident) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the traffic volume was emptier than I had ever experienced. It was a gentle downhill, so the speed just kept increasing.”

The defendant Hikota said he did not feel that he was going 268 km/h, and also testified that in the past (there were times when I drove at tremendous speed) about five or six times.