Ex-truck driver gets 7 years for Mie expressway crash that killed six
In short
The Tsu District Court sentenced former truck driver Mizuyo Mizutani (水谷水都代), 55, to seven years' imprisonment on 20 October over a March crash on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie, that killed six people. The sentence matched the prosecution's request and is the upper limit for negligent driving causing death. Prosecutors said she was looking at her phone and hit a line of stopped traffic at about 82 km/h.
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The Tsu District Court on 20 October sentenced Mizuyo Mizutani (水谷水都代), 55, of Akitakata, Hiroshima, to seven years' imprisonment. She was charged with negligent driving causing death over a crash on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie, in March that killed six people. The sentence matched what prosecutors had requested. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
The sentencing hearing began at 11:45, TBS reported. Judge Hiroaki Deguchi (出口博章) said the case ranked among the heaviest compared with past negligent driving causing death cases and that imposing the upper limit of the statutory penalty was appropriate, Asahi Shimbun reported. Nippon TV said seven years is the upper limit for the offence. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
According to the prosecution's closing argument as reported by Asahi, the large truck was travelling on the southbound lane at about 02:18 on 20 March. In the roughly 13 seconds before the crash, Mizutani looked at her phone screen for about 10 seconds, trying to take a screenshot of a TikTok cooking video, and then looked aside while searching for her driving log. Prosecutors said she did not check the way ahead and hit the line of cars in the jam at about 82 km/h. [ 3 ]
Mainichi Shimbun, citing the indictment and other materials, said the crash happened near a tunnel exit (野登トンネル) on the southbound lane and that the speed limit was 50 km/h. It said the truck hit a minivan at the end of the queue carrying the Matsumoto family of five and also struck the passenger car of Keizo Takamine (髙峰啓三). Prosecutors also argued that she had fitted a phone holder to the dashboard and routinely watched short videos while driving. [ 5 ]
The dead were Koji Matsumoto (松本幸司), 45, a company employee from Fukuroi, Shizuoka, his wife, 42, and their three children, aged 11, 8 and 5, and Takamine, 56, an organisation employee from Soka, Saitama. [ 3 , 5 ]
Prosecutors said the driving was comparable to dangerous driving and called for strict punishment, including as a deterrent. Mizutani admits the charge, Nippon TV reported. Her defence said the phone use could not be excused but argued that she had repeatedly expressed remorse and apologised and had promised not to obtain a licence again, so there was no risk of reoffending, and it asked for an appropriate sentence. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The court gave the maximum term for negligent driving causing death, and the judge said the case ranks among the heaviest of such cases. The documents give no further consequences beyond the sentence itself.
Key facts
- The Tsu District Court sentenced Mizuyo Mizutani (水谷水都代), 55, of Akitakata, Hiroshima, to seven years' imprisonment on 20 October, as prosecutors had requested. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Seven years is the upper limit for negligent driving causing death. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The crash happened on 20 March on the southbound Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie, when her large truck hit a line of cars in a traffic jam. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Six people died: five members of the Matsumoto family from Fukuroi, Shizuoka, and Keizo Takamine (髙峰啓三), 56, from Soka, Saitama. [ 3 , 5 ]
- Prosecutors said she was driving at about 82 km/h while looking at her phone. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
- Mizutani admits the charge, according to Nippon TV News. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Tsu District Court sentenced the woman who drove the truck to seven years' imprisonment, as prosecutors requested. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- Six people died in the crash on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- Prosecutors said she was looking at her phone before the crash, which happened at about 82 km/h. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the defendant will appeal None of the documents says whether an appeal will be filed.