Two people died in a vehicle collision Saturday night caused by a driver traveling the wrong way down an eastern Japan expressway, with a third person killed when a truck slammed into traffic that had backed up after the first incident.

At around 10 p.m. Saturday, the car traveling the wrong direction on the Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, collided head-on with another vehicle driven by the second victim. Police confirmed Sunday that the two drivers, both male, had died.

A crane lifts a damaged vehicle onto a recovery truck at the site of an accident on the Tohoku Expressway in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture on April 27, 2025. (Kyodo)

The victim of the subsequent impact involving the truck was a woman, though details surrounding her death remain unknown.

Both accidents occurred between the Nasu and Kuroisoitamuro exits on the expressway, which runs between Saitama and Aomori prefectures.

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AloJapan.com