Two injured as Japan driver ploughs into kids

An elderly driver drove her vehicle into a group of children in western Japan yesterday, police said, the latest in a string of similar, often fatal, car accidents caused by old drivers. Two children were injured when 69-year-old Rieko Ueda ploughed her car into a group of kids from a local nursery facility in Nishinomiya city shortly before 10am, a police spokesman said.

A six-year-old girl was conscious when she was taken to a hospital, but the scale of her injury was not immediately available, the spokesman said. Local media said she had broken her shoulder bone. A five-year-old girl was also taken to a hospital for a minor injury, the spokesman added. “The cause of the accident is under investigation,” he said, adding that police had arrested the driver.