Saitama Prefecture police arrested an 84-year-old man on Tuesday after he hit a 6-year-old girl with his vehicle in Kumagaya city, Saitama Prefecture, leaving her unconscious.
The man, Hideo Aoki, arrested on suspicion of reckless driving causing injury, has admitted to the charge, according to police.
The incident took place on a street in Kumagaya at around 2.40pm on Tuesday, when a group of six or seven children, including the first grade girl, who had just left the nearby primary school, were crossing the street.
Investigators said they got the green light at the crosswalk as they crossed the street on their way to an after-school club.
The girl hit her head hard and is in critical condition.
Aoki, who was driving a mini car, reportedly told investigators, “I knew the light was red. I noticed it when it was already too late to stop.”
He also indicated that he may have confused the traffic light with another green light further down the street.
The accident occurred on a straight road about 4 kilometers south of the Oaso station of the Chichibu Railway.
Translated by The Japan Times
