Police turned over to prosecutors Tuesday their case against a bus company and seven employees suspected of allowing drivers to speed, which contributed to a deadly 10-vehicle pileup in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Police sent papers accusing Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. and the seven employees of violating the Road Traffic Law over the Aug. 11 pileup on the Tokyo-bound lanes of the Chugoku Expressway in Ogori.
Two drivers on one of the company's buses were killed and 33 other people were injured in the accident, which occurred at around 9:20 p.m. when a large truck made a sudden stop to avoid a car ahead that had stopped after skidding on the wet road. Two buses operated by the company were involved in the crash.
Police alleged that the company and seven employees allowed drivers of late-night express buses running between Tokyo and Fukuoka to speed on 11 occasions between last May and August.
The speed limit on expressways in Yamaguchi Prefecture is 80 kph, but the drivers traveled at 100 kph, an investigation determined.
Police discovered the speeding from tachometer records on the two buses in the pileup. The violation carries a penalty of up to six months in prison or a maximum fine of 100,000 yen.
Police searched the carrier's branch office in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka, in late August and confiscated driving records amid suspicion that a traffic control system employee there had allowed the speeding.