52-year-old driver fled because he was worried he would lose his job.

On September 25, a startling scene unfolded outside Shibuya Station, one of Tokyo’s largest rail hubs. As the walk light came on and dozens of people made their way across the multi-direction Shibuya Scramble Intersection, a black van came speeding through the mass of people.

Pursued by a police car, the van turned down a side street before doubling back and driving through the intersection once more, again as people were crossing. Miraculously, none of the pedestrians were hit, but after the second pass through the Scramble, the pursuing officers called off the chase, lest any more bystanders be put at risk.

But the suspect’s escape was only temporary, as the authorities were able to track him down using the information on the van’s license plate. On October 3, Toshio Miyoshi, a 52-year-old resident of Yamato in Kanagawa Prefecture (the prefecture bordering Tokyo to the south) was arrested and taken into custody by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Shibuya Precinct.

Shortly before 10 p.m. on September 25, police officers questioned Miyoshi during a traffic stop on the streets of Udagawacho, a neighborhood adjacent to Shibuya Station. However, Miyoshi did not have his license on him at the time, and was worried that such an infraction would lead to his driving privileges being suspended, which would prevent him from doing his job as an employee of a civil engineering and construction firm. Faced with that possibility, he decided to flee the scene, which led to the chase seen in the above videos.

Miyoshi was arrested for multiple infractions, including reckless driving, speeding, failure to comply with police instructions, and striking/destroying traffic cones. With conviction almost a complete certainty, his punishment is likely to have a far greater impact on his livelihood than driving without having his license on his person ever would have.

Source: Livedoor News via Jin