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Oita (Jiji Press)—Oita District Court in southwestern Japan on Thursday sentenced a 23-year-old man to eight years in prison for driving a car at 194 kilometers per hour to cause a fatal accident in 2021.
The man, who was 19 at the time, was found guilty of dangerous driving resulting in death. The sentence compares to a 12-year sentence sought by the prosecution.
According to the indictment, on the night of Feb. 9, 2021, the man drove a car through an intersection on a prefectural road at a speed of 194 km per hour, well over the legal limit of 60 km per hour, and his car collided with a car turning right from the opposite lane, killing its driver, a then 50-year-old corporate employee.
In his lay judge trial, the main issue in dispute was whether the case constituted the crime of dangerous driving resulting in death under the law on punishments regarding automobile driving.
The Oita District Public Prosecutors Office originally charged the man with negligent driving resulting in death, but changed the charge to dangerous driving resulting in death, following a petition from the victim’s relatives for a harsher punishment.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that the crime of dangerous driving resulting in death should apply to the case, pointing out that a vehicle traveling at 194 km per hour would shake significantly, increasing the risk of the driver mishandling the steering wheel and brake.
The defense claimed that the crime should not apply to the case because the man was driving straight down the road.
