3-year-old girl dies after being hit by car in Kitakyushu

04 Apr 2026, 07:04 · Japan Today

KITAKYUSHU — A three-year-old girl of Pakistani nationality was struck and killed by a car while running on a pedestrian crossing in Kitakyushu City on Friday.

The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m., TV Asahi reported. According to police, a man driving a passenger car called 110 and said that he had hit someone at an intersection in Wakamatsu Ward.

Police quoted the driver as saying the traffic light in his direction was green and that the girl ran onto the crossing in front of him before he could stop or swerve around her.

The victim, who lived nearby, was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after due to hemorrhagic shock.

Police said the girl’s parents told them she disappeared from their home after they took their eyes off her. Her father said: "I noticed she was gone and thought she might have gone to a convenience store nearby that we often go to.”