Hitomi Yoshizawa arrest: Alcohol level 4 times legal limit

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed that alcohol level in the system of Hitomi Yoshizawa, a former member of all-girl idol group Morning Musume, at the time of her arrest far exceeded the legal limit, reports TV Asahi (Sept. 7).

At around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, a vehicle driven by Yoshizawa, 33, ignored a red light and struck a woman pedaling a bicycle in the Higashi-Nakano area of Nakano Ward, causing her to fall. The woman then collided with a male pedestrian.

According to police, a breath analysis conducted on Yoshizawa revealed 0.58 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air. The legal limit is 0.15 milligrams, meaning the former idol exceeded the figure by nearly four times.

For reference, a person registering 0.55 milligrams of alcohol per liter will show difficulties in controlling their hands and hand, police said.

After the incident, Yoshizawa fled. About 15 minutes later, she telephoned police to report hitting the bicyclist and returned to the scene, where she was arrested on suspicion of drunk and dangerous driving and hit-and-run resulting in injury. She admitted to the allegations, police said.

The woman and man suffered light injuries, police said.

The incident is not the first traffic-related problem for Yoshizawa. In September of last year, the idol was involved in an accident in which was driving on the wrong side of the road. In that case, a man in his 20s suffered light injuries.

Police are now investigating what quantity of alcohol Yoshizawa consumed prior to the incident.