NIIGATA (Kyodo) A car carrying four teenagers tumbled 50 meters down a river bank in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, early Sunday, killing one and seriously injuring the other three, police said.
The accident occurred at around 3 a.m. in the Matsunoyama district. Although the road there is fairly straight, the car broke through the railing and plunged into the river, they said.
All four occupants, including the 18-year-old male driver, were under the influence of alcohol, the police said, adding that alcohol was found in the survivors as well as the body of Ryo Sato, 17, who died in the plunge.
The other two passengers were a 16-year-old high school girl and an 18-year-old male vocational school student.
20 years, no license
CHIBA (Kyodo) A construction worker in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, was arrested Sunday for driving without a license for the past 20 years, police said.
"I didn't renew my driver's license about 20 years ago but have been driving since then," Minoru Fukuda, 64, was quoted as telling police.
A patrol car tried to pull Fukuda over at around 9:45 a.m. Sunday for a broken tail light, but he sped away and was apprehended after a 2-km chase.