Fatal Wrong-Way Collision and Pileup on Tohoku Expressway Claim 3 Lives in Tochigi Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:47 JST, April 27, 2025

NASUSHIOBARA, Tochigi – A series of accidents on the northbound Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture, claimed the lives of three individuals on Saturday night. The incidents, including a crash involving a wrong-way driver, which caused traffic congestion and led to an additional pileup, occurred between the Nasu and Kuroiso-Itamuro interchanges.

According to the Tochigi prefectural police’s Expressway Traffic Patrol Unit, a passenger vehicle traveling against the flow of traffic collided head-on with an oncoming car at about 10 p.m. on Saturday. This initial crash involved a total of four vehicles, killing two men. The victims are believed to be the male driver of the wrong-way vehicle, in his 40s, and the male driver of the other passenger car involved in the head-on collision, in his 50s.

In a secondary incident stemming from the ensuing traffic jam, a large truck collided with a line of vehicles, leading to a six-car pileup. This collision resulted in the death of a woman, believed to be in her 60s. Several other people also sustained injuries.