MIE, May 21 (News On Japan) - Following a high-speed incident in which a vehicle drove the wrong way for more than 10 kilometers on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture, dashcam footage has revealed the near misses and chaos caused before the driver was finally arrested.
The video, recorded from a white car, shows a blue vehicle swerving down the opposite lane with its headlights flashing and windshield wipers active, forcing two oncoming cars to sharply maneuver out of the way to avoid collision.
Shocked voices in the video react in real time: "What? Huh? Is that a wrong-way driver?" and "Should we call the police?" Within three seconds of spotting something ahead on the fast lane, the car passes dangerously close at high speed.
On May 20th, police sent 34-year-old Rossi Cruz John Elias, a Peruvian national residing in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, to prosecutors. He was arrested the previous day on suspicion of fleeing the scene after causing a crash involving two cars while driving against traffic on the expressway.
The suspect’s car was later found approximately 20 kilometers from the crash site in a residential area of Mie Prefecture. He turned himself in alone at the Nagahama Police Station.
A person familiar with the suspect’s family said: "He went back to Peru about two years ago, but no one really knows when he returned to Japan. I’ve heard he’s been moving around doing temporary work, so he probably just kept his registered address here."
According to police, the suspect had converted his foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one at least five years ago. Investigators also believe he may have made a U-turn directly on the main highway before starting to drive in the wrong direction.
Four people sustained injuries in the crash, and police are now considering more serious charges, including dangerous driving resulting in injury.
Source: TBS
