東北とうほく道どう 3人にん死亡しぼうの逆ぎゃく走はし事故じこ 映像えいぞう解析かいせきなど詳くわしい状況じょうきょう調しらべ 警察けいさつ

On the 26th, in a wrong-way driving accident on the Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture, where three people died and ten were injured, it is believed that the car driving the wrong way entered from a nearby interchange and continued for over three kilometers.

The police are analyzing footage from the dashboard camera and investigating the circumstances that led to the wrong-way driving, as well as the detailed situation at the time of the accident.

On the 26th, around 10 p.m., on the northbound lane of the Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara City, a car traveling in the wrong direction was involved in a collision with an oncoming vehicle, then continued driving for nearly 3 kilometers before having a head-on collision with another car. Yuta Maehara 42, who lived in Utsunomiya City and was driving the wrong-way car, and Katsutoshi Hiraoka 56, who lived in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture and was driving the car that was hit, both died.

Furthermore, due to the traffic jam caused by this accident, another accident involving six vehicles including large trucks occurred, resulting in the death of Yumiko Nagashima 60, a resident of Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, who was in one of the cars that was rear-ended. In addition, ten people were injured in the series of accidents, and two of them suffered serious injuries such as fractures to their pelvis or lower back.

The police have arrested a 54-year-old truck driver on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death or injury after a rear-end collision.

At the time, since there were multiple reports of a car driving in the wrong direction near the Kuroiso-Itamuro Interchange close to the accident site, it is believed that the car entered from this interchange and drove in the wrong direction for over 3 kilometers.

The police are analyzing footage from dashboard cameras installed in cars and surveillance cameras on highways to investigate the circumstances leading up to the wrong-way driving and to determine the detailed situation of the accident.