THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
May 20, 2025 at 13:48 JST
KAMEYAMA, Mie Prefecture—A Peruvian man has been arrested over a multiple-vehicle accident on the Shin-Meishin Expressway caused by a motorist driving in the wrong direction, Mie prefectural police said May 19.
Rossi Cruz John Elias, a 34-year-old corporate worker from Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, is suspected of hit-and-run and other offenses.
Four women between the ages of 40 and 70 were injured in the accident.
The suspect is believed to have been driving the wrong way on an outbound lane of the expressway when he collided with two cars at around 11 a.m. on May 18.
Another vehicle that had stopped after apparently seeing the suspect’s car moving against traffic was rear-ended, causing a chain reaction resulting in a four-car accident.
The wrong-way driver did not report the incident to police and fled from the scene, according to the Expressway Traffic Police Unit of the prefectural police.
The suspect has denied part of the allegations, saying he collided with only one car, police said.
The investigation so far suggests the suspect’s car made a U-turn near either the Tsuchiyama Service Area in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, or near the Suzuka tunnel exit before heading in the wrong direction.
Police received witness reports about a car driving the wrong way near the Suzuka Parking Area around noon on May 18, several tens of minutes after the four-car accident occurred.
This indicates the suspect may have continued traveling the wrong way for more than 10 kilometers after the accident.
(This story was written by Takunori Yasuda and Yuka Kamagata.)
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A car driven the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture on May 18 (Provided by Nagoya Regional Head Office of Central Nippon Expressway Co.)
