OSAKA (TR) – Police here have arrested a 45-year-old company employee who drunkenly pedaled a mamachari city bicycle onto a busy expressway, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Apr. 26).
The suspect, a resident of Habikino City, was taken into custody early Sunday morning and accused of violating the Road Traffic Act by operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
“There is no mistake,” the suspect told investigators, fully admitting to the allegations.
According to the Osaka Prefectural Police’s Expressway Traffic Police Unit, the bizarre incident unfolded at approximately 1:10 a.m. along the Hanshin Expressway Route 4 Wangan Line in Takaishi City.
Authorities were first alerted to the dangerous stunt when a stunned motorist dialed police to report that a “mamachari is traveling on the Wangan Line.”
Officers swiftly rushed to the scene and intercepted the intoxicated cyclist, arresting him on the spot. Under Japanese traffic laws, bicycles, pedestrians and light motorcycles are strictly prohibited from entering expressways.
Miraculously, the late-night joyride did not result in any traffic accidents or injuries. Police are currently investigating exactly where and how the inebriated man managed to wander onto the high-speed roadway.
AloJapan.com