A 3-year-old boy died after being struck by a motorcycle in a chain-reaction crash caused by a drunk driver in Fukuoka City on September 20.
The tragedy occurred around 11:10 a.m. on a prefectural road in the Oda district of Nishi Ward, Fukuoka City. According to the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Nishi Station, a light passenger car driven by 68-year-old Masaharu Ogami collided with three motorcycles traveling in front of him. The impact launched one of the motorcycles into a nearby family, striking Haru Oyama.
He passed away the following day, September 21.
The Final Moments at the Coast
The accident struck during a family trip from the Oyama family’s home in Oita City to Saga Prefecture. While traveling, the family decided to stop at a popular coastal tourist spot known for its palm-tree swings and shops. Haru and his parents spent the morning playing and taking photographs along the shore.
Because Haru loved sweets, his parents encouraged him to get a treat. To protect his clothes from stains, Maki placed a handkerchief around his neck just before the collision occurred.
The suddenness of the impact left both parents with fragmented memories. Haru’s father, Yasushi, reported that by the time he regained consciousness, he was on the ground in pain and could not find his son. He eventually discovered Haru lying near the motorcycle and a partially destroyed bench where they had been sitting.
Drunk Driving and Criminal Charges
Police testing revealed that the driver, Masaharu Ogami, had alcohol levels exceeding the legal limit in his breath. He was arrested at the scene on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Acts Causing Death or Injury by Driving (dangerous driving causing injury).
By September 22, prosecutors had updated the charges to dangerous driving causing death and injury. The investigation indicates that Ogami was operating the vehicle in a state where normal driving was difficult due to the influence of alcohol.
The tragedy is compounded by the preventable nature of the cause. The parents expressed their struggle to process the event, stating that the fact that the accident was triggered by a conscious decision to drink and drive is unforgivable.
A Family’s Grief and Remembrance
Haru’s parents described their son as a cheerful child who loved Anpanman and was beginning to draw the character’s image. He was known for being affectionate, often asking to be carried or held, and occasionally calling his parents abeko-be (topsy-turvy).
Using the characters forclear weather” and “treasure,” his parents wanted him to receive only the joy of having met him.”
I want to tell him, ‘Sorry, you must have been surprised. Maki and Yasushi Oyama, parents of the victim
On September 21, the day Haru died, the couple returned to the crash site. They felt as though their son had been left behind at the scene and spoke to him, telling him to follow us home. That night, Haru was laid in his bed at home alongside his favorite Anpanman toys.
The Human Cost of Dangerous Driving
This incident highlights the catastrophic ripple effect of a single decision to drive under the influence. The collision did not just target the vehicles in the road; it violently intruded upon a safe pedestrian zone where a family was resting. While five people, including the parents, were transported to the hospital with injuries such as fractures, the ultimate loss was the life of a child who was simply eating a treat on a bench.
The case now moves into the legal system as prosecutors pursue charges for dangerous driving causing death. For the Oyama family, the legal outcome remains secondary to the void left by a child whose last words were a simple request for ice cream.