Crashed Two Elementary School Children To Death Due To Drunk Driving, This Grandpa Was Imprisoned For 14 Years

JAKARTA - Due to drunk driving, this driver caused an accident that claimed lives and injuries, leading to a prison sentence.

A Japanese court on March 25 sentenced a 61-year-old man to 14 years in prison for a drunk driving accident that left two elementary school children dead and three others seriously injured near Tokyo last year.

The Chiba District Court found Hiroshi Umezawa's grandfather guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol when he hit a group of students returning from school on a street in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, in June last year.

During the trial, prosecutors condemned Umezawa for what they said was one of Japan's worst drunk driving cases, demanding 15 years in prison for him.

According to Kyodo News March 25, the court found that Umezawa had continued drunk driving since at least 2020.

"Although he has to maintain safety as a professional heavy truck driver, he continues to drive drunk," Presiding Judge Daisaku Kaneko said when delivering the verdict.

Umezawa admitted to charges of dangerous driving resulting in injury or death, and apologized to the bereaved family. Meanwhile, the grandfather's lawyer asked for leniency, saying he was sorry.

Grieving family members expressed reluctance to accept the verdict, saying the maximum 15-year prison sentence demanded by prosecutors was deemed inadequate.

And, that they could not understand why the sentence ended up being less from 15 years to 14 years.

Prosecutors pointed out that Umezawa often drove under the influence of alcohol, drank even while working. Prior to the accident, he drank 220 milliliters of the distilled 'shochu' liquor he bought at a convenience store, they said.

Alcohol in excess of the legal limit was detected when he took a breathalyzer test after the accident, police said.

It is known, two boys, aged 7 and 8 years respectively, died in the accident. Meanwhile, two other boys and a girl were seriously injured.

Umezawa drank alcohol at a rest area on the expressway during work around 3pm, on June 28, 2021, before crossing the road in Yachimata at around 3:30pm, where he fell asleep and hit a group of schoolchildren, according to the ruling.