At the urging of his passenger, a taxi driver turned himself in for a hit-and-run accident that resulted in a death in Ginan, Gifu Prefecture, early Sunday, local police said.

Arrested for traffic law violations and other charges was 58-year-old Masaharu Nakayama. According to police, Nakayama ran over 21-year-old truck driver Akihisa Kudo on a prefectural road at around 2:05 a.m. Sunday. Kudo, apparently drunk, was struck while sleeping on the road after dining at a local barbecue restaurant, police said.

Nakayama stopped after the accident, but then drove off. He failed to call for an ambulance or take any other measures to assist Kudo, they said.

Nakayama's 29-year-old passenger, however, repeatedly urged the cab driver to return to the scene.

Although Nakayama initially refused, saying the matter did not concern the passenger, he finally agreed and returned to the accident site about 15 minutes later where he was arrested.