First trial of Ikebukuro runaway accident Apologies to the bereaved families and acquittal of the indictment October 8 11:57
Last year, the first trial of an 89-year-old defendant, a former Ministry of International Trade and Industry executive, was held in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, accused of causing a runaway car, killing his mother and children and seriously injuring nine people. While apologizing to the bereaved family, the accused pleaded not guilty, stating that "there was something wrong with the car and it went out of control."
Kozo Iizuka (89), a former executive of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, hit pedestrians one after another in Ikebukuro, Tokyo last April by mistakenly stepping on the brake and accelerator and causing the passenger cars to run away. In addition to killing Riko-chan (3), she has been accused of negligent driving fatal injuries for causing serious and minor injuries to nine people.
At the first trial held at the Tokyo District Court, the defendant stood up from a wheelchair with the support of an attorney and said, "I sincerely apologize to the bereaved family who lost their wives and daughters in the accident. I have no words to feel my heartache, and I deeply apologize to everyone who suffered injuries, "he apologized and bowed deeply to the bereaved family who participated in the trial as a victim.
On the other hand, regarding the content of the indictment, he said, "I remember that I never kept stepping on the accelerator. I am sorry that I could not stop it because there was something wrong with the car and it went out of control." Insisted on innocence.
In response, the prosecution stated in the opening statement, "The car has never been found to be abnormal during regular inspections or service inspections, and the inspection of the car does not show any abnormalities."
The bereaved family, including Takuya Matsunaga, who lost his wife and daughter, participated in the hearing using the victim participation system, and Mr. Matsunaga sat side by side with the prosecutor, staring at the defendant and listening.