OSAKA -- The families of two boys who were struck and killed by a car in 1994 will file an appeal with the Osaka High Prosecutor's Office and Supreme Prosecutor's Office, arguing that Osaka district prosecutors inappropriately dropped charges against the driver, sources said Monday.
The families of 7-year-olds Yosuke Yabusu and Hiroki Yoshizawa, who died in September 1994 after being hit by a car in the city of Kawachinagano, Osaka, believe prosecutors were wrong in their judgment that the boys rushed out in front of the car, causing the accident.
In a complaint, the families cite an opinion by Osaka University doctors who concluded the boys "were both hit from behind while walking along the street single file."
Based on this opinion, they will ask higher prosecutors supervising the district office to reinvestigate the case in an effort to indict the 38-year-old driver.
The Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office decided not to indict the driver in March 1997.
Although the committee for the inquest of prosecution, an independent body that reviews prosecutors' decisions, voted against the decision in October 1998, the district office, after further investigation, decided to drop the case again last month, saying the accident was unavoidable because the boys jumped out in front of the car.
A civil ruling ordered the driver to pay damages to the families. The driver was not identified.