Crime & Courts

Woman Arrested for Allegedly Driving Car into Sea, Killing Man in Passenger Seat

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Chiba prefectural police headquarters

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:44 JST, December 15, 2024

Police arrested a woman on Sunday for allegedly killing a man in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, after she drove a car into the sea with the man in the passenger seat.

Police said that the suspect, Miyuki Harada, 54, denied the charge.

“I panicked while driving and wanted to die. I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t have any space in my head to think about the victim,” she told police.

Harada drove a small cargo vehicle into the sea at a fishing port in the city at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, causing the death of Masayuki Mizushima, 80, who was sitting next to her, according to police.

Harada escaped from the car by herself. A security camera nearby recorded her car moving parallel to the quay before suddenly changing direction and plunging into the sea, the police said.

Harada told investigators that she first met Mizushima at her old workplace and that she had been consulting with him about her problems.