A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a 61-year-old man to 14 years in prison for a drunken-driving incident that left two elementary school children dead and three others severely injured near Tokyo last year.
The Chiba District Court found Hiroshi Umezawa guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into a group of children heading home from school on a street in Yachimata, Chiba Prefecture, in June last year.
In the trial, prosecutors condemned Umezawa for what they said was one of Japan's worst ever cases of drunken driving, demanding he serve 15 years in prison. The families of the victims also asked for severe punishment.
Umezawa admitted to the charge of dangerous driving resulting in injury or death and apologized to the bereaved families. The defense counsel asked for leniency, saying he is remorseful.
Prosecutors pointed out that Umezawa often drove under the influence of alcohol and even drank while working. Before causing the incident, he drank 220 milliliters of shōchū distilled liquor he had bought at a convenience store, they said.
Alcohol in excess of the legal limit was detected when he took a breathalyzer test after the accident, police said.
Two boys, age 7 and 8, were killed in the incident while two other boys and a girl were seriously injured.
Umezawa drank alcohol at a rest area on an expressway during work at around 3 p.m. on June 28, before driving on a street in Yachimata at around 3:30 p.m., where he dozed off and hit a group of schoolchildren, according to the indictment.