<figure id="attachment_461635" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-461635" style="width: 552px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="72b14f55"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/f588d8aafca80be207fa3bb5ff14ef4d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-461635" class="wp-caption-text">Soumei, who passed away (courtesy of an acquaintance)</figcaption></figure>
<h2> The car was overtaken by a car that was accelerating quickly.</h2>
<p> At 5:30 in the early morning of March 7, when the winter cold still lingered, a passenger car and a light car collided at the intersection of Route 8 in Hachimachi, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. The driver of the red Civic, Ryo Sugibayashi, 26, was arrested on suspicion of causing the death of Erika Ueda, 38, and her son Soumei Ueda, 14, after driving at more than twice the legal speed limit into the intersection.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the day of the accident, it was raining heavily and the road surface was slippery. Despite this, Sugibayashi was driving at over 140 km/h. The legal speed limit at the scene of the accident was 60 km/h. The legal speed limit at the accident site is 60 km/h, so he was driving out of control. In response to the police investigation, Sugibayashi stated that he &#8220;wanted to go through a red light&#8221; and &#8220;wanted to overtake another car. Before the accident, Sugibayashi was driving at a high speed on Route 8,&#8221; said a reporter from a national newspaper.</span></p>
<p> Mr. A, a man living in the prefecture, revealed the tragic circumstances immediately after the accident.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Just before the accident, the suspect&#8217;s Civic passed the car driven by my father at a high rate of speed. My father arrived at the intersection where the accident took place just after it happened. The mother was trapped inside the wrecked car, and no matter how many times he tapped on the window, there was no response, and the child was thrown out of the car. &#8230;&#8230; &#8216;The trauma was so severe that there was nothing more I could do,&#8217; the father said.&#8221;</span></p>
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<p> In addition to the Sugibayashi suspect, another car was seen that day driving out of control on Route 8.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It was a Civic, the same color as Sugibayashi&#8217;s, and white. My father saw two cars of different colors running side by side on Route 8. They must have thought they were racing. Since the accident occurred after the two cars were racing each other, the police should also investigate the white Civic,&#8221; said Mr. A. &#8220;The suspect, Sugibayashi, was driving a white Civic in Toyama City.</span></p>
<p> Sugibayashi is said to have been well-known among the &#8220;runners&#8221; in Toyama City. Mr. B, a man who himself had been a &#8220;street racer,&#8221; confided, &#8220;I was driving on Route 8 when I saw the suspect driving a white Civic.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When I was driving on Route 8, Sugibayashi&#8217;s red Civic pulled up next to me. I was in a hurry and was speeding, so he must have thought I was competing with him, because the Civic suddenly accelerated and hit me, then drove off. The license plate number and make of the car were distinctive, so I immediately recognized it when I saw it on the news.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" My brother&#39;s lament"></div>
<figure id="attachment_461636" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-461636" style="width: 2048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="62965261"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/c2a25fbc2f9610e9f965d918a31591c2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-461636" class="wp-caption-text">Many people came to the accident site to offer flowers</figcaption></figure>
<h2> He behaved stoutly at the funeral&#8230;</h2>
<p> According to a colleague at Sugibayashi&#8217;s company, the suspect &#8220;didn&#8217;t talk much. But when I thought he was working quietly, he would suddenly become agitated over the slightest thing. I got the impression that he was a &#8216;difficult person to approach.</p>
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<p> On the day of the accident, &#8220;Erika and Soumei were on their way to Nagano for a handball team trip,&#8221; said a male acquaintance, his eyes reddening.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Soumei was a member of a strong handball club team in Toyama Prefecture. Erika was on her way to drive him to a game in Nagano when the accident occurred. He usually drives a larger car. The car she was hit by was a loaner car, a mini car.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Erika was a single mother raising her two sons by herself. She considered her divorce a &#8220;failure,&#8221; and before her death she often said, &#8220;I want my sons to live uprightly,&#8221; and scolded Soumei when he skipped handball practice. However, she was usually a very kind and loving mother. There were many mother friends who adored Erika.</span><span class="strongInContent"> Soumei-kun was very cheerful and was a mood maker on the team.</span></p>
<p> Soumei&#8217;s older brother attended the funeral of Ueda&#8217;s mother and son.</p>
<figure id="attachment_461659" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-461659" style="width: 2048px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="caf5ccae"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/1cf99f7eeb675b6435f9ad8613ca5a8e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-461659" class="wp-caption-text"> The scene of the car crash. Sugibayashi is believed to have failed to apply the brakes before the intersection.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The elder brother is a freshman in high school. He was acting tough amidst the weeping attendees, but he told his close friends, &#8216;I want to die now. It is heartbreaking to imagine how the brother feels after suddenly losing two of his precious family members. &#8230;&#8230;</span></p>
<p> In an instant, the peaceful days and happy future of three innocent parents and their children were snatched away by an extremely childish, reckless, and reckless outburst. Sugibayashi, who survived on his own, will be severely punished, but this man has committed a terrible crime that he cannot atone for even if he spends the rest of his life.</p>
<p> The Toyama Prefectural Police must not allow the driver of the white Civic to get away with this.</p>
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 Junpei Kota

 At 5:30 in the early morning of March 7, when the winter cold still lingered, a passenger car and a light car collided at the intersection of Route 8 in Hachimachi, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture. The selfishness of the suspect who took the lives of two innocent parents and their children, and the lamentations of the families left behind.

The eldest son’s lament and the suspect’s “out of control nature” in the crash that killed two people.

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