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iTrader: (1)

http://www.7tune.com/school-girl-die...fting-accident

Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan: At around 2:00AM (JST) this morning a 15 year old school girl was admitted to hospital with massive injuries after being hit by a car which was drifting in a car park.

Yuki Terao, a junior high school student, was watching classmates drift an unlicensed car in a car park when the driver of the vehicle “made a mistake” and slid into Ms Terao who was dragged some distance before stopping. She was taken to hospital but died soon after with extensive injuries. The 16 year old driver of the car and the 18 year old unemployed passenger have been arrested by the Police and are expected to receive a manslaughter charge.

What impact will this have on drifting in Japan? If previous accidents where a bystander was injured are anything to go by, the Police will probably make a huge (relatively speaking) effort in the coming weeks to shut down any street drifting in the Himeji area. In Osaka at least, the penalties for street drifting are quite severe with hefty fines and license suspensions of up to 2 years. So already there has been a decline in the instance of street drifting in Japan but it still goes on, only in more remote areas. How this affects the wider community’s opinion of drifting is a little harder to predict as, in the grand scheme of things, drifting is largely ignored by the majority of people in Japan. Of course that holds true until a fatal accident makes the news. It goes without saying… keep it at the track!

Words: Justin Karow

Do you belive this will have a negative effect on the image of drifting?

DustinV

Whoa, and just last night I saw Tokyo Drift for the first time on German TV!

Tragic story regarding the girl.

sphy1005

iTrader: (3)

There will always be careless idiots showing off to their buddys.

I don't think it'll change the sport of drifting but hopefully it'll change peoples decision to drift on public streets.

Just like street racing really didn't change organized drag racing.

Keep it at the track people!

mmarshall

Yeah...........sure it will.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

this is less related to drifting as it is to idiot kids driving stupidly in stupider places.

happens in the US all the time, some guy in a mustang burning out, losing it, and crashing into the school doesnt mean cops are going to crack down on someone doing a burnout out in the mountains or the desert where there arent many innocent people to hit...

IS-SV

Tragic anyway you look at it.

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iTrader: (1)

That's one thing that really grinds my gears. Why cant some people get there jollies off away from people, like the mountains, countryside, or desert?

I8ABMR

drifting on the street in in a park is ridiculous . I cant believe they would be so stupid to do that around people. These cars are being thrown and flicked at very high speeds and the cars can rebound and go flying in the opposite direction if not careful

daelo74

i know this sucks, but she was not an innocent bystander who happened to walk along and got hit. she was watching some idiots who was in an unlicense car spinning around. how about this, do you blame a rally car driver hitting spectators and photographers on the track when they are so close to it? it is up to them to be inches from the passing cars.

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iTrader: (1)

^^^Agreed however, most people are going to view it as those crazy kids with their crazy racing hit that innocent school girl. Perception is everything.

MR_F1

Tragic.

Drifting is NOT a motorsport.

sphy1005

iTrader: (3)

Yes I agree it is not, but many say it is. Maybe I should've said, drifting at a track....

Can't see the pic.