Drunk Driving and Hit-and-Run Involving 4 Elementary School Students… Driving Without a License While on Probation! Chinese Man’s Shocking Remarks: “I Had Been Drinking Beer”

“I will never drive again.”

“That’s correct. That’s exactly right.”

The defendant reportedly looked straight ahead and admitted to the charges.

The first hearing for defendant Deng Hongpeng (44), a Chinese demolition worker charged with violating the Road Traffic Act (driving without a license), was held on September 3 at the Koshigaya Branch of the Saitama District Court.According to the indictment, Deng is alleged to have repeatedly driven without a license between May and June of this year, despite being on probation.

“Deng was also involved in an accident last May while driving an SUV (a luxury sport utility vehicle). Moreover, he had been drinking.The SUV plowed into a line of elementary school students on their way home from school, leaving four with injuries ranging from minor to serious. In the trial held in November of that same year, Deng was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years.

Despite having his license revoked and stating in court that he would ‘never drive again,’ Defendant Deng repeatedly drove without a license, leading to this indictment,” said a judicial affairs reporter for a national newspaper.

“FRIDAY Digital” has reported in detail on the incident last May in which defendant Deng injured four elementary school students while driving under the influence. Below, we present the details of the accident caused by defendant Deng, as well as his shocking remarks and behavior.

“I had been drinking beer.”

The man whose car plowed into a line of elementary school students, injuring four of them—some seriously and others slightly—reportedly made this statement during police questioning.

On May 18 of last year, the Yoshikawa Police Station in Saitama Prefecture arrested the defendant Deng on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Motor Vehicle Drivers (negligent injury) and the Road Traffic Act (hit-and-run) for hitting the children and fleeing the scene.

“The incident occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. on May 14.A luxury SUV driven by the defendant, Deng, collided with a line of about 10 elementary school students who were on their way home from school. Four boys were injured, and one of them, an 11-year-old sixth-grader (at the time), suffered a severe injury—an avulsion fracture of the right instep.

Although Deng briefly got out of the car, security cameras and multiple dashcams recorded him fleeing the scene without providing appropriate assistance. It has been confirmed that Deng had been drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages at a Chinese restaurant in Misato City since shortly after noon, just before the incident.“It is believed he fled the scene out of fear that his drunk driving would be discovered,” said a reporter from the crime desk of a national newspaper.

“Because I said, ‘I’m fine.’”

On the 18th, four days after the incident, Defendant Deng, accompanied by an acquaintance, turned himself in at the Yoshikawa Police Station. Since the police determined he had been drinking, they changed the charge to negligent injury while under the influence of alcohol, with the intent to evade detection. During questioning, Defendant Deng reportedly made the following absurd claim and denied fleeing the scene.

“There’s no doubt I hit him, but since the other party (the injured child) said, ‘I’m okay,’ I just walked away from the scene.”

Mika Yanagihara, a journalist specializing in traffic accidents, offers the following commentary.

“Drunk driving is, of course, a serious crime. Furthermore, fleeing the scene (hit-and-run) is an extremely despicable act that carries severe penalties. This is because fleeing delays medical assistance, putting the victim’s life—which could have been saved with prompt action, such as calling an ambulance—at risk of being lost.

I think it’s extremely difficult to protect children from accidents caused by reckless drivers. Simply installing guardrails in front of schools isn’t very effective. We may need more comprehensive measures, such as school bus transportation to and from school, as is done in the United States.”

The trial mentioned at the beginning is scheduled to proceed with the defendant’s examination on November 10.