“I applied the brakes, but the car did not stop,”
police quoted her as saying.
2 killed after driver, 83, rams tollbooth at Tokyo hospital
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 13, 2016
A car hit and killed two people on a sidewalk near the National Hospital Organization Disaster Medical Center in Tachikawa in western Tokyo on Nov. 12. The tollbooth of a parking lot is seen in the top left corner. (Takuya Isayama)
An 83-year-old driver apparently exhausted after caring for her ailing husband rammed through a tollbooth gate, striking and killing two pedestrians on a sidewalk in western Tokyo, police and other sources said Nov. 12.
Officers at the Tachikawa Police Station suspect the driver, Sachiko Uezu, accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brakes as she was trying to leave the parking lot at the National Hospital Organization Disaster Medical Center in Tachikawa.
“I applied the brakes, but the car did not stop,” police quoted her as saying.
Tatsuhiro Awa of Hachioji, 39, and his acquaintance, Taeko Ichikawa, a 35-year-old resident of Kodaira, both in Tokyo, were run over and later pronounced dead.
Uezu, a resident of Kokubunji, also in Tokyo, was hospitalized after hitting her head in the accident. Police say she showed no signs of dementia.
Police will question her on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death when she recuperates.
Uezu was believed to have been driving home alone after tending to her husband, who is in critical condition at the medical center.
Coins scattered in the driver’s seat indicate that Uezu mistakenly hit the accelerator when she tried to insert money at the tollbooth in the hospital parking lot, according to police.
Her car plunged through shrubbery and onto the sidewalk where Awa and Ichikawa were walking.
There were no traces of braking at the scene, police said.
A man who was walking behind the two victims told police, “A car barreled in with a roaring engine as if someone was stepping on the accelerator.”
A neighbor said Uezu appeared exhausted on the morning of Nov. 12 after tending to her husband for the entire night.
Uezu returned home in the morning to gather clothes for her husband before heading to the hospital again around noon.
2012 – 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS C Problems & Complaints (U.S. NHTSA complaints as of: 14 Nov 2016)
Service Brakes Problem on the 2016 TOYOTA PRIUS C [1]
BRAKES, I HAVE ANTI LOCK BRAKES, BUT IF I HAVE TO PRESS THE BRAKE THE LEAST BIT HARD IT LOCKS UP. I HAVE TALKED TO THE DEALER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HE SAYS ITS NORMAL. THEY ALSO GRAB WHEN I PUT THEM ON. THIS IS MY THIRD PRIUS AND I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM. I THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE LOOKED INTO.IT MAKES THE CAR SKID . THANK YOU
Service Brakes Problem on the 2015 TOYOTA PRIUS C [1]
Jun 27, 2016 - Atlanta, GA - Service Brakes
A FEW MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE, WHILE DRIVING THE CAR, ALL OF THE DASH INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE DISPLAY FLASHED "BRAKE OVERRIDE MALFUNCTION, SEE DEALER." THE BRAKE AND THE GAS WERE NOT BEING USED AT THE SAME TIME. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WHILE STOPPED AT A LIGHT WITH A FOOT FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE, THE BRAKES DISENGAGED AND THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD ABOUT A FOOT BEFORE THE BRAKES ENGAGED AGAIN. THE DASH LIGHTS STAYED ILLUMINATED THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP. AFTER TAKING IT TO THE DEALER, THEY RESET THE COMPUTER AND RETURNED THE CAR. WHILE DRIVING IT HOME FROM THE DEALER, THE SAME PROBLEM REOCCURRED. THE DEALER THEN REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER AND CLAIMED THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. A FEW MONTHS LATER, THE SAME PROBLEM REOCCURRED. ONCE STARTED, THE PROBLEM OCCURS EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN. AFTER DRIVING FOR A FEW MOMENTS, THE DASH LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, THE ERROR MESSAGE POPS UP, AND THE CAR UNEXPECTEDLY LURCHES WHENEVER STOPPED. THIS HAPPENS WHETHER DRIVING IN THE CITY OR ON THE HIGHWAY (THOUGH OBVIOUSLY THE LURCHING ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE BRAKES ARE ENGAGED).
A FEW MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE, WHILE DRIVING THE CAR, ALL OF THE DASH INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE DISPLAY FLASHED "BRAKE OVERRIDE MALFUNCTION, SEE DEALER." THE BRAKE AND THE GAS WERE NOT BEING USED AT THE SAME TIME. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WHILE STOPPED AT A LIGHT WITH A FOOT FIRMLY ON THE BRAKE, THE BRAKES DISENGAGED AND THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD ABOUT A FOOT BEFORE THE BRAKES ENGAGED AGAIN. THE DASH LIGHTS STAYED ILLUMINATED THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP. AFTER TAKING IT TO THE DEALER, THEY RESET THE COMPUTER AND RETURNED THE CAR. WHILE DRIVING IT HOME FROM THE DEALER, THE SAME PROBLEM REOCCURRED. THE DEALER THEN REPLACED THE MASTER CYLINDER AND CLAIMED THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. A FEW MONTHS LATER, THE SAME PROBLEM REOCCURRED. ONCE STARTED, THE PROBLEM OCCURS EVERY TIME THE VEHICLE IS DRIVEN. AFTER DRIVING FOR A FEW MOMENTS, THE DASH LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, THE ERROR MESSAGE POPS UP, AND THE CAR UNEXPECTEDLY LURCHES WHENEVER STOPPED. THIS HAPPENS WHETHER DRIVING IN THE CITY OR ON THE HIGHWAY (THOUGH OBVIOUSLY THE LURCHING ONLY HAPPENS WHEN THE BRAKES ARE ENGAGED).
