TOKYO, Aug 23 (NNN-NHK) – The offices of a bus operator were searched by the police, today, following the fatal crash a day earlier on an expressway in Nagoya, central Japan, that left two people dead and injured seven others.
The operator of the bus, Aoi Traffic Corp., located in north Nagoya’s Komaki city, was searched on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in death and injury, local media reported.
Two people died and seven others were injured, as the bus overturned and caught fire, after hitting a concrete divider on the Nagoya Expressway. The bus was on its way from the city centre to the Nagoya Airport.
Another vehicle was also involved in the fiery collision.
Investigative sources said, the bus hit the concrete divider, as it was travelling in the lane leading to the expressway’s exit.
Police are looking into the driver’s decision-making and his condition at the time of the crash as there were no brake marks at the scene.
After hitting the divider, the bus overturned and caught fire, with thick black smoke seen billowing from the inferno.
Today, images of the bus were broadcast by local media, showing the burned-out shell of the vehicle, with the words “safe & kind” and the operator’s name “AOI” just recognisable on the side of the charred vehicle.
The police will likely confiscate documents related to how the firm’s drivers operate, including their working hours and the company’s overall safety management.
In fatal accidents in the past, bus drivers here have been found to have been working dangerously long hours, depriving them of sleep, and not adhering to speed limits or standard routes to get to their destinations, in order to save time and money.– NNN-NHK
