TOKYO, May 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A car ploughed into a group of kindergarten
children in western Japan’s Shiga region on Wednesday leaving at least four
of them critically injured, police and reports said.
There was no immediate detail on why the car veered off the road into the
group of children in the city of Otsu.
“The accident occurred on a road in Ogaya in Otsu City,” a police
spokesman told AFP.
“A car hit a line of about 15 nursery school children out walking. Several
people were injured,” he added.
The local city government also confirmed the accident but had no further
details.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that four children were in critical
condition and that others were hospitalised after the accident.
The children and their teachers were on the pavement near a crossing when
the small vehicle crashed into them.
Footage on local media in the aftermath of the accident showed the car had
veered up off the road and onto the pavement. A second car that appeared to
have been damaged in a crash could be seen still on the road.
There was no immediate detail on who was driving the car, but Japan has
seen a rise in fatal accidents caused by elderly drivers.
Drivers over 65 were responsible for 965 deadly accidents in Japan — more
than a quarter of the total — in 2016, according to the National Police
Agency.
Most accidents caused by elderly drivers resulted from them mixing up the
accelerator and the brake or losing control of the steering wheel.
Last month, a woman and her three-year-old daughter were killed when an
87-year-old man rammed into their bicycle.
The driver has said the crash was caused by a fault with the car and
police are still investigating.