A girl who died on a school bus Cause of death was heatstroke "Did not check enough when getting off"

On the 5th, at a certified children's center in Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture, the cause of death of a 3-year-old girl who died after being left in a school bus for about 5 hours was confirmed as heatstroke.

The director of the children's center, who was driving the bus, told the police that "the children did not fully check the inside of the car when they got off the bus."

At Kawasaki Kindergarten, a certified children's center in Makinohara City, after 2:00 pm on the 5th, Kawamoto Kawamoto (3) was found collapsed in the school bus and was confirmed dead at the hospital to which she was transported.

On the 6th, the police searched the home of the nursery school and the director's home on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death, and seized related materials.

According to the police, China was left in a locked car for about 5 hours from the time she arrived at the park before 9 am. it was done.

On the 5th, the driver who was usually in charge suddenly took a day off, so the chairman was driving, and six kindergarten children, including China, and a female temporary staff member in her 70s were on board.

According to the prefecture, when the children got on the board, the chairman and staff made sure that everyone got on by filling out the paper.

However, when they arrived at the kindergarten, even though she was still in the car, the staff entered into the kindergarten's management system that everyone had arrived at the kindergarten. It means that it was.

According to investigative sources, the chairman told the police, "I didn't fully check the inside of the car when the children got off the bus."

The police are investigating the situation at the time in detail, believing that the park's safety management was inadequate.

what happened on the school bus

According to the police and the prefecture, on the 5th, the driver who was usually in charge of the certified children's center "Kawasaki Kindergarten" suddenly took a break, so the chairman Tatsuyoshi Masuda (73) drove the bus to the kindergarten and dispatched the 70-year-old. It is said that a female staff member was on board as an assistant to pick up the children who were going to the kindergarten.

Around 8:40 am, Sana Kawamoto got on the bus.

When six children, including China, got on board, the female employee filled out a piece of paper and confirmed that all of them got on board.

The bus arrived at the park around 8:50 am.

Normally, the staff would get the children off the bus and guide them to the entrance of the kindergarten, and with the assistance of the staff, each child would scan a special card over the terminal installed at the entrance, and enter the kindergarten management system. It was an operation that recorded what was done.

However, on the 5th, the staff entered the kindergarten management system all at once, and although China was actually left behind in the car, the system showed that she had come to kindergarten. about it.

In addition, in response to the police investigation, a person involved in the kindergarten said, "Usually, the driver was the last to check if there were any children left on the bus." It is believed that safety management such as checking was inadequate.

According to the police, the bus was parked in a parking lot with no roof about 200 meters from the park in a locked state, and in Makinohara City, the maximum temperature was 30.5 degrees before 1:00 pm at the observation point at Shizuoka Airport. was doing.

At around 2:10 p.m., about five hours after the bus arrived at the kindergarten, according to investigative sources, the bus that had been parked in the parking lot was moved to the front of the kindergarten to take the children home. When I let her go, I found China-chan lying on her back between the seats in the second and third rows from behind the driver's seat.

China usually sat in the 4th row seat.

Ambulance crews arrived at the scene around 2:20 p.m.

According to the fire department, China was not breathing and her body was hotter than usual when she was transported. .

About an hour after she was transported, China was confirmed dead at a hospital in the city at 3:30 pm.

Shizuoka Prefecture and Makinohara City to undergo special audit soon

In response to the death of a 3-year-old girl who was left behind in a school bus, Shizuoka Prefecture and Makinohara City decided to investigate whether there were any problems with the safety management of the certified children's center "Kawasaki Kindergarten". It is our policy to conduct special audits based on the law.

According to the prefectural government, in the regular audits conducted for this kindergarten over the three years from 2019 to last year, no items requiring improvement in written guidance were confirmed.

Ayumi Suzuki, head of the prefectural children's future division, said, "We would like to see the progress of the police investigation and consult with Makinohara City as soon as possible."

The country that received the death of a kindergarten child in Fukuoka last year also notified

In July last year, a 5-year-old child died of heatstroke after being left in a shuttle bus parked in a parking lot for about 9 hours at a nursery school in Nakama City, Fukuoka Prefecture. We have issued a notice requesting thorough safety management for certified children's centers and kindergartens.

Specifically, we will double-check the number of children when the scene changes, such as when going to kindergarten or taking a walk. and the number of people, and request that the contents be shared among the staff.

Under these circumstances, in Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture, a child was left behind on the school bus again and died, so on the afternoon of the 6th, the prefecture issued a notice requesting all cities and towns in the prefecture to be thorough again.

Even in this case, the government requested thorough safety management and notified

On the 5th, a 3-year-old girl died after being left behind in a bus to attend a kindergarten at a certified children's center in Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture. We notified them to thoroughly implement safety management such as confirmation and information sharing.

According to the notice, in July of last year, a child died after being left behind in a shuttle bus at a nursery school in Fukuoka Prefecture. It is regrettable, and after further understanding the details, we will consider additional measures in the future.

In South Korea, the country raises measures by revising the law

In South Korea, there have been cases in the past of children dying after being left on a shuttle bus, so the government revised the law in 2018 and embarked on a national countermeasure.

Specifically, a device has been installed in kindergarten and school shuttle buses that will sound an alarm if a button installed at the rear of the vehicle is not pressed or a tag is read with a smartphone within three minutes after the engine has been turned off. I am asking you to

By requiring the driver to go to the back of the car after turning off the engine, it is possible to make sure that there are no children left behind.

Drivers will be fined if they neglect a series of actions.

In addition, the government provides subsidies for the introduction of such devices and promotes their spread.

Furthermore, since last year, it has become a legal requirement to inspect the transparency of the window glass of children's pick-up buses so that the inside of the bus can be easily seen from the outside.

Mo Chang-hwan, a researcher at the Korea Transportation Research Institute, who is familiar with traffic administration, said, "There is a limit to individual attention alone, and if something goes wrong, it will lead to an irreversible accident. The cost of safety must be borne by society."