Kanagawa prefectural police arrested a 49-year-old company employee on suspicion of negligent driving causing death and of fleeing the scene after a truck hit and killed two women at an intersection in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The suspect, Makoto Aida, of Nakano, Midori Ward, Sagamihara, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Automobile Driving Punishment Act (negligent driving causing death) and the Road Traffic Act (hit-and-run), police announced on the 14th.
Police say he denied the charge. "There is no doubt that I passed near the road where the accident happened, but I know nothing about the accident," he was quoted as telling investigators.
What police allege
According to the Ebina police station, the suspected crime took place at about 3:10 p.m. on the 13th, at a National Route intersection in Shimoimaizumi 2-chome, Ebina. The truck struck the two women as they walked across a pedestrian crossing and drove off.
Both women were confirmed dead at the scene.
The intersection is a four-way crossing with traffic signals and a pedestrian crossing, about 1 kilometer north of Ebina Station.
Evidence behind the arrest
Police identified the truck from witness statements and security camera footage, the station said. A truck believed to have been driven by Aida was found in Midori Ward, Sagamihara, several hours after the accident.
With no admission from the suspect, the case rests on that witness and camera evidence tying him to the vehicle and the scene.