Tea-leaf spill causes multi-vehicle crash in eastern Japan, kills 1
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
Tea leaves were scattered over a 500m stretch of a two-lane road in Sano, Tochigi prefecture.
PHOTO: THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Follow topic:
TOKYO – A multi-vehicle crash involving 12 cars on a national road in eastern Japan killed one man early on Jan 4, after tea leaves spilled from a moving truck, causing vehicles behind it to skid, police said.
The accident took place on a two-lane road in Sano, Tochigi prefecture, after the tea leaves scattered over a 500m stretch of the road.
Four people were taken to hospital, and one was later confirmed dead. The injuries of the three others were not life-threatening.
The dead man, a 78-year-old from Saitama prefecture, was hit by an oncoming vehicle after he stepped out of his truck, according to the police.
The truck that was carrying the tea leaves was travelling eastwards from Ashikaga towards Sano.
A man believed to have been involved in the accident made an emergency call to police at around 5.40am. The exact time of the crash remains unclear.
The road was temporarily closed following the accident. Workers used heavy machinery and shovels to remove the wet tea leaves that had stuck to the road. KYODO NEWS
