Five years ago, the Yokohama District Court sentenced the defendant to 18 years in prison in a trial of redoing a defendant charged with dangerous driving fatal injury for killing and injuring four family members while driving on the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture. I handed it over.
Five years ago, a wagon car stopped on the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture was hit by a truck, killing his husband Yoshihisa Hagiyama (45) and his wife Yuka Hagiyama (39), and injuring two daughters. In the accident, Kazuho Ishibashi (30) was accused of causing a dangerous driving fatal injury because he caused the accident while driving.
In previous lay judge trials, the prosecutor's office sentenced him to 18 years in prison for saying, "It is obvious that repeated sabotage driving is an extremely dangerous and malicious crime," while the defense said, "The accident was a truck that collided from behind. He insisted that he was not guilty of dangerous driving.
In the judgment on the 6th, Judge Kiyoshi Aonuma of the Yokohama District Court sentenced Ishibashi to 18 years in prison.
In court, there are continuing statements about whether the crime of dangerous driving, which was at issue, can be applied and the reason for the sentence.
Regarding this trial, in 2018, the Yokohama District Court of the first trial decided that it was a crime of dangerous driving and sentenced him to 18 years in prison, but the Tokyo High Court of the second trial had an illegal point in the procedure of the first trial. As a result, the judgment of the first trial was revoked, and the trial was restarted from January.
■ Hearing ticket lottery rate is 8.8 times
While it was raining, a large number of people gathered at the Yokohama District Court in search of a hearing ticket.
185 people wanted to hear from 21 seats, and the lottery rate was 8.8 times.
A 56-year-old office worker living in Yokohama said, "I think this incident has increased my interest in dangerous driving. I also had the experience of driving a car and being struck from behind, so I decided to listen. I was talking.
A 21-year-old female college student said, "She has a license and feels that driving is familiar. She is the first to come to the hearing."
A 50-year-old woman from Machida, Tokyo, who came with her son in sixth grade, said, "I installed a drive recorder in my car as a measure against road rage. Since the elementary school was closed, I also listened to her son's study. I came to. "
■ History of the accident
The accident happened on June 5, five years ago (2017).
On the down line of the Tomei Expressway in Oi Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, a large truck collided with a wagon car that had stopped in the overtaking lane.
Yoshihisa Hagiyama (45) from Shizuoka City and his wife Yuka Hagiyama (39) died and their two daughters were injured.
In the subsequent investigation, the car driven by Kazuho Ishibashi (30) interrupted in front of Mr. Hagiyama's wagon car just before the accident, and suddenly slowed down to reduce the distance between the cars. As a result, it turned out that there was a suspicion that an accident had occurred because he was forced to stop on the highway.
In October 2017, the Yokohama District Prosecutor's Office indicted Ishibashi on charges of dangerous driving fatal injury and other charges for causing an accident while driving in a tilted manner.
■ The issue of the trial is ...
The main issue in this case is whether or not the crime of dangerous driving manslaughter is established.
In order for dangerous driving fatal injury to be established, it is necessary to identify the causal relationship between the fact that the driving was disturbed and the result of the fatal injury.
Prosecution's allegations
The prosecution clearly showed that the defendant repeatedly accelerated and decelerated on the highway from driving records and eyewitness testimony, and disturbed driving four times, and this disturbing driving forced the wagon car to stop on the highway. Since an accident has occurred, it is said that a causal relationship is recognized.
Even if dangerous driving fatal injuries are not recognized, it is claimed that the act of stopping the victim's car on the highway and making it extremely difficult to escape is a crime of imprisonment fatal injury.
Defendant's allegation
On the other hand, the defense cannot trust the witness testimony that the sabotage was repeated, and the GPS records of the defendant's car do not indicate that there were four sabotage claims claimed by the prosecution.
In addition, he said that the victim's car was not forced to stop by the defendant's driving, the truck that collided had a speed violation, and the distance from the car in front was sufficient. He claimed that the cause was not, and that he was not guilty of dangerous driving fatal injuries.
It is said that the crime of imprisonment fatal injury will not be established.
Defendant Ishibashi stated in the trial that he was "not driving dangerously to cause an accident."
The defendant has also been accused of "attempted coercion" and "damage to property" due to driving, etc. in three other cases in Yamaguchi Prefecture, but he admits these and there is no dispute.
■ Why is the trial redone?
The reason why the trial was to be redone in the first trial was that it was pointed out that there was an illegal point in the trial procedure.
The lay judge trial of the first trial began in December 2018, but in the procedure for arranging the issues discussed by the judge, the prosecutor, and the lawyer before that, the court told both the prosecution and the defense side this case. He expressed the view that he was not guilty of dangerous driving.
In the judge's trial, the lawyer claimed that the crime of dangerous driving could not be applied to the accident that occurred after the defendant stopped the car, but the judgment decided that the Yokohama District Court could apply the crime of dangerous driving fatal injury. And sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
In response, in December 2019, the Tokyo High Court of the Second Tribunal stated, "The defendant's disturbing driving forced the victim to stop the car on the highway, which was an extremely dangerous act. I admit that there is no mistake in the judgment of the first instance that applied the crime of dangerous driving. "
On the other hand, "it is illegal and obvious that the court has stated to both the prosecution and the defense that it is not guilty of dangerous driving in the pre-trial proceedings. It may have affected the sentence. It cannot be said that it was not. It is clearly illegal to convict the defendant without securing sufficient opportunities for allegations. " I ordered the trial to be redone.
The redo trial began in January at the Yokohama District Court, and the decision was initially scheduled to be handed down in March.
However, in the cross-examination of witnesses such as the eldest daughter of the deceased couple, the court had to redo some trials for improperly restricting the cross-examination of the defense, and the judgment was postponed for three months.
The trial, which followed an unusual process, reached a judgment five years after the accident.
■ Attention is focused on the danger of road rage
In the wake of this accident, attention was focused on the danger of driving.
1. Strengthening penalties
Three years later, in 2020, the Road Traffic Act was amended to stipulate that the undefined legally defined road rage is "jamming driving", and that it causes dangers such as squeezing, sudden braking, and obsessive horns. It has been subject to crackdowns and penalties have been strengthened.
In addition, the Car Driving Penalty Law has also been amended, and the act of stopping in front of a car running on a highway or stopping it in a significantly close approach is regarded as "dangerous driving" with heavy penalties.
2. Strengthening police crackdown
With the tightening of penalties, police crackdowns have also been strengthened.
Efforts are also being made in various places to monitor and detect road rage on highways using helicopters from the sky.
According to the National Police Agency, police in the whole country caught 96 cases of road rage last year, of which 26 cases were extremely dangerous, such as stopping a car on a highway.
Even after being severely punished, there is no end to road rage.
3. The number of people who install drive recorders is increasing
More and more people are installing drive recorders in their cars to prevent damage and keep records.
■ Four cases in which Defendant Ishibashi was indicted
Defendant Kazuho Ishibashi (30) has been charged in four cases.
<First incident> Attempted extortion
The first case was around 8 pm on May 8, 2017, in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where I was forced to stop by obstructing the course of other cars by driving, and while hitting the windshield, I said "come out". He is accused of attempting extortion, such as yelling.
<Second incident> Damage to property
The second case was about five hours later.
Around 1 am on May 9, 2017, he was accused of damaging property for kicking and denting the door of the opponent's car that obstructed his course and forced him to stop in the same Shimonoseki city.
<Third incident> Dangerous driving fatal injury, assault, imprisonment fatal injury
And the third is the incident on the Tomei Expressway that occurred on June 5th of the same year (2017).
At night on the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture, driving the wagon car obstructed the course of the wagon car and stopped it in the lane, causing an accident in which the following truck collided, and Mr. Yoshihisa Hagiyama (45) and his wife Yuka Hagiyama He has been accused of dangerous driving fatal injury and assault for killing (39) and injuring his two daughters.
In this case, the prosecutor's office charged him with imprisonment and death in case he was not found guilty of dangerous driving.
<Fourth incident> Attempted extortion
Furthermore, on August 21, 2017, more than two months after the accident on the Tomei Expressway, he stopped the truck by driving in Yamaguchi City and shouted "Come out" while hitting the window glass of the driver's seat. I am accused of attempting coercion.