Tsu District Court rules former truck driver for smartphone video in Shinmeishin accident that killed 6 people sentenced to 7 years in prison

On the 20th, the Tsu District Court sentenced Mizutoyo Mizutani (55), a former truck driver accused of violating the Motor Vehicle Driving Punishment Act (negligent driving causing death), for rear-ending a passenger car with a large truck on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, killing six people, including three children, in March. Judge Hiroaki Deguchi sentenced him to seven years in prison, as requested.

Defendants responsible for six deaths in Shinmeishin worked illegal overtime? Transport company president sent to prosecutors - Hiroshima Central Labor Standards Station

Prosecutors have pointed out in previous trials that at the time of the accident, Mizutani was driving while watching a video on the short video posting app TikTok on his smartphone for approximately 13 seconds. The court also cited that the driver had habitually engaged in ``while driving,'' or ``while driving while looking at a smartphone,'' and called for the maximum statutory penalty, stating that ``there is a strong need for severe punishment from a preventive perspective.''

Regarding the accident, a Hiroshima City transportation company and its president were referred to the prosecutor's office on the 7th of this month on suspicion of violating the Labor Standards Act for causing Mizutani and five other truck drivers to work illegal overtime.

According to the ruling, in the early hours of March 20, the defendant drove a truck at approximately 82 kilometers per hour, exceeding the speed limit, while looking at his smartphone on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama City. The car collided with a traffic convoy, killing a total of six people, including Keizo Takamine, then 56, an organization employee from Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, and Koji Matsumoto, 45, a company employee from Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and a family of five.