Chinese national arrested in Japan over alleged hit-and-run case that injured 4 boys
The suspect, Deng Hongpeng, is accused of hitting a group of pupils with his grey SUV, then driving away after checking on the children
A Chinese national has been arrested in Japan after allegedly fleeing the scene of a drink-driving incident that injured four schoolboys – the second case this month involving a group of children struck by a car, raising fresh alarm over pedestrian safety in the country.
The 42-year-old suspect, identified as Deng Hongpeng, turned himself in to police in Misato, a city about 20km from central Tokyo, on Sunday morning – four days after the incident.
Deng, a demolition worker and Misato resident, is accused of hitting a group of about 10 sixth-grade pupils with his grey SUV at around 4pm last Wednesday as they walked home from school. One boy suffered a fractured leg, police said.
The incident took place in a residential area as the pupils were walking home from school. The group had been on a straight road with good visibility. There was no pavement, so they had been walking on the shoulder of the road, authorities said.
Footage from a dashcam in another car showed two men getting out of the vehicle to check on the children. They then returned to their car and drove away as people gathered.
“The driver got out and said ‘Are you OK?’ but had this smirking, careless attitude,” one witness told The Japan Times. “The kids were repeating, ‘He ran away, he ran away!’ They’d even memorised the car’s licence plate.”
Street surveillance camera footage showed the vehicle fleeing the scene, making repeated right and left turns.
The vehicle was found and seized the next day in a residential car park about 2km from the scene. Deng’s whereabouts had been unknown until he turned himself in at about 8.30am on Sunday. He took a taxi to a Misato police station, accompanied by a woman.
Authorities questioned him as he resembled the driver recorded on the dashcam of another vehicle that had passed by the scene of the incident. Deng admitted hitting the children, but claimed he left the scene after the children said they were all right, according to police sources.
A 25-year-old Chinese national who was in the car during the incident has also been arrested for allowing the driver to take the wheel, despite being aware he had consumed alcohol.
Police are investigating Deng’s motives and his whereabouts after the incident.
Wednesday’s incident comes amid growing concerns about pedestrian safety in Japan, particularly involving children.
Earlier this month, parents in Osaka were left shaken after a 28-year-old man drove his car into a group of primary schoolchildren, fracturing the jaw of a seven-year-old girl. A man was arrested at the scene for attempted murder. The suspect had deliberately targeted the children as he reportedly harboured resentment towards those he perceived as living comfortable lives.
