NAGANO — The operator of a bus involved in a crash that killed 15 people in the ski resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, offered an…
NAGANO — The operator of a bus involved in a crash that killed 15 people in the ski resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, offered an apology to the victims Tuesday to mark the third anniversary of the accident.
Misaku Takahashi, 57, president of the operator ESP, offered flowers at a monument set up near the accident site at around 5 a.m., the time he first heard of the crash.
“I mourn the loss of lives and apologize from the bottom of my heart to everyone involved, including the victims’ families and friends,” he said.
In the early hours of Jan. 15,2016, an ESP bus driven by 65-year-old Hiroshi Tsuchiya careened off a road in Karuizawa after hitting a guardrail at a speed of 96 kilometers per hour, killing 15 people on board, including the driver, and injuring 26 others.
Takahashi has been under investigation by prosecutors on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injury or death since June 2017. In December last year, relatives of the victims also filed a damages suit against ESP and the president.
