A Japanese woman who drove home with the body of an 80-year-old pedestrian lodged in her windscreen has been arrested on charges of causing a deadly traffic accident and fleeing the scene, police said today.

The 23-year-old driver was believed to have struck the elderly woman in the early hours yesterday north of Tokyo before driving four miles (seven kilometers) home with the victim's body wedged in the shattered windscreen.

Michiko Sato, a catering school student, was arrested after her boyfriend called police to report the accident, a police spokesman said.

When police called at Ms Sato's home, they found the body of the elderly woman still stuck in the car's windscreen.

"The suspect said she was so shocked that she didn't know what to do," the police spokesman said. He added Sato was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

She was charged with causing a traffic accident resulting in death and escaping after running over a person with a car and faces up to 17 years in prison or a fine of up to two million yen ($23,245) if convicted.

