A drunken truck driver killed a couple and injured their young son and a tow-truck driver when he crashed into them while they were fixing the couple's car on a road in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, late Saturday night, police said Sunday.
Police identified the couple as Naoki Ito, 35, and his 34-year-old wife, Chikako, from Tokyo.
They were killed immediately in the accident, which occurred at 9:25 p.m. on National Route No. 51. The tow-truck driver, 30-year-old Yukio Takahashi, was also seriously injured,m suffering broken bones, police said.
Takahashi was helping the couple repair their car and the three adults were standing outside the vehicle when the semitrailer smashed into them, they said.
The Itos' 5-year-old son, who was inside the car, suffered from the collision's impact and sustained light injuries.
Police arrested the truck driver, Mikio Okubo, 43, for negligence resulting in injury and death. Okubo, who was drunk at the time, had been swerving and driving 80 kph, police said.
Takahashi and Okubo live in Ibaraki Prefecture.