Five years ago, the first trial of the presidents of a bus company accused of accidental fatal injury in the bus accident in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture, which killed 15 people including university students, was opened at the Nagano District Court on the 21st. Will be taken.
The focus is expected on the company's safety management system and whether it was possible to foresee the possibility of a fatal injury.
Five years ago, in January 2016, a ski tour bus in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture, fell to the side of the road without being able to turn the curve, killing 15 passengers and injuring 26.
Misaku Takahashi (60), the president of the Tokyo company "ESP" that was operating the bus, and Tsuyoshi Arai (53), a former employee in charge of operation management, said that the 65-year-old driver who died in the accident said, " I'm worried about driving a large bus, "he said in a hiring interview. I am.
On the other hand, the driver was sent documents on suspicion of negligent driving fatal injury because he had an accident due to a mistake in gear change operation, but he was not charged because of his death.
The trial, which will begin on the 21st at the Nagano District Court, will focus on whether the presidents have foreseen the company's safety management system and the possibility of fatal injury.
History of the accident
The accident happened five years ago, around 2:00 am on January 15, 2016.
On a national highway in Karuizawa Town, Nagano Prefecture, a ski tour bus accelerated to about 95 km / h and fell to the side of the road without being able to turn the curve,
killing
a total of
15
passengers, including 13 university students and 2 crew members
. 26 people were injured.
The Tokyo company "ESP", which operated the bus, did not make a roll call before the departure of the day, and did not create a ledger that records the health condition of the deceased driver. Many violations of laws and regulations related to operation were found.
Following the accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism reviewed bus safety measures.
The audit system for bus companies has been strengthened, the business license of chartered bus companies is renewed every 5 years, the license is revoked if safety measures are insufficient, and if a serious violation is found in the unannounced audit, it operates. It has become possible to take measures such as immediately stopping the bus.
The Nagano Prefectural Police predicted the possibility of a serious accident between the president of "ESP" and the former employee who was in charge of operation management in June 2017, more than a year after the accident, but the large bus He sent documents on suspicion of accidental fatal injury in business because he neglected to give guidance to drivers who are unfamiliar with driving.
In addition, regarding the dead driver, documents were sent on suspicion of negligent driving fatal injury, alleging that he had caused an accident due to a gear change operation error.
In response to this, the bereaved family collected signatures for about 47,000 people and submitted them to the Nagano Provincial Prosecutor's Office, asking for prosecution, saying that it was necessary to clarify the responsibility to prevent recurrence.
The Nagano District Public Prosecutor's Office proceeded with a careful investigation, and in January, five years after the accident, the president and a former employee were indicted at home on charges of accidental fatal injury.
The driver was not charged because he was dead.