A passenger vehicle involved in a fatal accident at a 7-Eleven is seen on Jan. 6, 2026, in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture. (Mainichi/Nanami Otsubo)
HIGASHIOSAKA, Osaka — A 15-year-old boy has died here after being hit by a passenger car while it attempted to park outside a 7-Eleven convenience store on Jan. 6.
The boy was apparently standing alone in the store’s bicycle parking area about 10 meters in front of the vehicle before it struck him at around 1 p.m. Reportedly, the car rolled over the parking blocks while attempting to pull in front-first, and continued until it collided with a fence, apparently pinning the boy against it.
Officers from Kawachi Police Station stated that the boy was unconscious during the ride to the hospital, where he was later confirmed dead.
Kiyotaka Sakaguchi, a 70-year-old company worker from Shijonawate, Osaka Prefecture, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of negligent driving causing injury. Sakaguchi apparently claims he mistook the accelerator for the brake. Police are planning to upgrade the charge to negligent driving resulting in death.
A 43-year-old man who works nearby recalled, “A van thrust into the fence, and a boy was caught up in the collision. I immediately ran over and did all I could to keep the fence from falling on him.” He explained that the driver had been in a state of panic and stated, “It’s so tragic for such an accident to happen right at the start of the year.”
(Japanese original by Nanami Otsubo and Takashi Kawachi, Osaka City News Department)
AloJapan.com