HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) A 20-year-old convenience store clerk was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday for vehicular homicide that claimed the lives of three people in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Presiding Judge Hiromichi Iwakura handed down the ruling to Masato Koyama at the Hiroshima District Court, saying: "The defendant's driving was very reckless and extremely dangerous. I have no choice but to say (the driving) was vicious."
Koyama was speeding on a national road in Miyoshi on Aug. 15 when he drove into the opposite lane and crashed head-on into the victims' minivehicle at around 8:20 a.m.
The minivehicle caught fire, killing Kiyomi Sako, 36, her daughter, Yuri, 5, and mother, Naomi Mitsumori, 58.
Koyama is believed to have been driving at 120 kph to 130 kph at the time. A friend in his car suffered minor injuries.
Prosecutors demanded 15 years in prison.