Japanese court sentences elderly drunk driver to 14 years in prison for killing
2 kids

A 61-year-old man on Friday was sentenced by a Japanese court to 14 years in prison for killing two elementary school children and leaving three others severely injured in a drunk-driving incident near Tokyo last year.

Hiroshi Umezawa was found guilty by the Chiba District Court of driving under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle struck a group of pupils who were on their way home from school in June last year in a local area of Tokyo's neighboring prefecture of Chiba.

Umezawa was condemned by prosecutors in the trial for what they described as "one of Japan's worst-ever cases of drunk driving."

The prosecutors sought a 15-year prison sentence for the offender. The families of the victims also called for a hefty punishment.

Umezawa admitted to the charge of dangerous driving resulting in injury or death. He also offered his apologies to the bereaved families and those whose children had been seriously injured.

Two boys, aged 7 and 8, respectively, were killed in the accident while two other boys and a girl were seriously injured.

The prosecutors said he consumed 220 milliliters of "shochu" liquor prior to causing the fatal accident.

Police said a breathalyzer test administered after the accident showed he was well over the legal limit for operating a vehicle.

The indictment stated that Umezawa consumed alcohol at a rest area on an expressway during work around 3:00 p.m. local time on June 28, 2021.

Following this, he drove on a street in Yachimata around 3:30 p.m., where he fell asleep at the wheel and smashed into the group of school children.