Two 17-year-old girls were injured early Sunday in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, when they were struck by a car after ignoring the driver's overtures toward them, police said.
The car drove off, and police are treating the incident as a hit-and-run. One of the victims suffered a fractured skull, while the other, a high school student, sustained bruises to her head and lower back, investigators said.
The two girls were walking along a prefectural road on their way home from a festival at around 12:15 a.m. when the driver of a car that had passed them stopped in a parking lot. The driver called out to them, but the girls ignored him, according to investigations.
The car suddenly lurched forward and hit the high school student. The other girl turned around and ran, but the vehicle chased her for about 20 meters and struck her, police said.