Osaka cops believe suspect in fatal hit-and-run was fleeing scene of assault

OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have revealed that a man arrested following a fatal hit-and-run incident in Fujiidera City earlier this month may have been fleeing the scene of an assault that took place just before, reports Mainichi Broadcasting System (Nov. 22).

At around 2:30 a.m. on November 20, a light passenger vehicle collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Fujiidera City, killing the driver, Kazutoshi Kusakabe, a 57-year-old office worker from Kashiwara City.

Police later arrested the driver of the passenger vehicle, Akito Yamauchi, 21, from Sayama City, on suspicion of hit-and-run and other offenses.

Upon his arrest, Yamauchi admitted to the charges.

Akito Yamauchi (X)

After the accident, Yamauchi returned to the scene. He told police that he “panicked because of the accident.”

However, investigators believe that a 19-year-old boy who was riding with Yamauchi may have been involved in a separate assault case that occurred in Higashiosaka shortly before and the pair was on the run together.

Investigators believe that Yamauchi and the male passenger discarded a knife in a river near the scene near the hit-and-run incident.