One dead, one hurt in six-vehicle crash on Tohoku Expressway in Morioka
In short
A crash involving six vehicles, four trucks and two cars, occurred around 00:30 on 20 October on the Tohoku Expressway in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. One car caught fire and its occupant died, and a person in a truck was injured but conscious. Police are investigating.
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A crash involving six vehicles occurred in the early hours of 20 October on the Tohoku Expressway in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. NHK reported that one car caught fire and one person died, and that police are investigating the details of the crash. [ 1 ]
TBS, citing police, said the crash happened around 00:30 in the up direction of the expressway near the Morioka-Minami interchange. It said four trucks and two cars were involved, one car burned and one truck rolled over. [ 5 ]
TBS said the death of the person in the burning car was confirmed. A person in a truck that left the road was taken to hospital with injuries but was conscious and not in a life-threatening condition, according to the report. [ 5 ]
Because of the crash, the up direction of the Tohoku Expressway is closed between the Morioka-Minami and Morioka interchanges, and TBS said there is no prospect of lifting the closure. Nippon TV's headlines described the crash as one with two people killed or injured and later said six vehicles were involved. [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
The crash closed part of the Tohoku Expressway, and the outlets give no estimate of when it will reopen. The documents give no cause, and police are still investigating.
Key facts
- Six vehicles were involved in the crash on the Tohoku Expressway in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, in the early hours of 20 October. [ 1 , 5 ]
- TBS, citing police, said the vehicles were four trucks and two cars, and the crash happened around 00:30. [ 5 ]
- One car caught fire and one truck rolled over. [ 5 ]
- One person died; TBS said the death was confirmed for the occupant of the burning car. [ 1 , 5 ]
- A person in a truck that left the road was taken to hospital; TBS said the person was conscious and not in a life-threatening condition. [ 5 ]
- The expressway is closed in the up direction between Morioka-Minami and Morioka interchanges, with no estimate of reopening. [ 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The cause of the crash. NHK said police are investigating the circumstances; no document states a cause.
- When the closed section of the expressway will reopen. TBS said there is no prospect of lifting the closure yet.
- The condition of the injured person beyond what TBS reported. Only TBS gives details of the injured truck occupant; Nippon TV and Yahoo! News Japan headlines say only that two people were killed or injured.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Four trucks and two cars are involved in a crash on the Tohoku Expressway in Morioka, according to police cited by TBS. [ 5 ]
- NHK reports the six-vehicle crash, with one car on fire and one person dead. [ 1 ]
- Nippon TV publishes a flash report on a multi-vehicle crash with two people killed or injured. [ 2 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan lists a headline on the multi-vehicle crash with two people killed or injured. [ 3 ]
- Nippon TV follows up, saying six vehicles including trucks and cars were involved. [ 4 ]
- TBS reports the details of the vehicles, the death, the injury and the road closure. [ 5 ]