TOKYO, Jan 29 (Kyodo/APP): A government car was traveling at about 130 kilometers per hour when it allegedly caused a fatal multivehicle accident in Tokyo’s busy Akasaka district last week, police officials said Thursday.
According to an analysis of vehicle data, the car was traveling at more than twice the 60 kph legal speed limit in the area. The vehicle, which was driven by a contracted worker, apparently ignored a red light and hit another car without applying the brakes.
Police plan to question the 69-year-old driver after he recovers from injuries in a possible case of dangerous driving resulting in death and injury.
In the accident involving six vehicles, an official car of the Cabinet Office collided with another vehicle some 30 seconds after leaving the prime minister’s office on Jan. 22, according to an investigative source.
The government car carrying two male passengers in their 50s in the backseats likely entered the intersection 68 seconds after the traffic light turned red, the source said.
The vehicle hit by the government car collided with a taxi and other vehicles including a garbage truck. The taxi also collided with the truck. A 32-year-old taxi passenger was fatally injured in the collision.
Police initially said eight people were injured in the accident but later confirmed six had sustained injuries.