Society

Ex-nursery school head indicted over 5-year-old boy's death in bus

Apr 06 (Japan Today) - The former head of a nursery school in southwestern Japan and a staff member there have been indicted without arrest for causing the death of a 5-year-old boy from heatstroke after leaving him on a school bus for hours last summer.

The former head, Yoko Urakami, drove the bus on the morning of July 29, 2021, to pick up school children. She and the female staff member then locked the vehicle after arriving at the school in Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture, with the boy Toma Kurakake accidentally left onboard, according to the indictment dated March 31.

The boy was found unconscious after around nine hours in the bus. In an experiment conducted by police to reproduce the bus's conditions at the time, the temperature inside reached over 50 C.

Urakami, 44, and the 58-year-old staff member, who was in charge of helping children get off the bus, were charged with professional negligence resulting in death.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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