Ex-Morning Musume idol accused of drunk driving in hit-and-run

TOKYO (TR) – Hitomi Yoshizawa, a former member of all-girl idol group Morning Musume, has been arrested for drunk driving in an incident in which she fled the scene, reports Fuji News Network (Sept. 6).

At around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday, a vehicle driven by Yoshizawa 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.

After the incident, Yoshizawa, 33, fled the scene. The woman and man suffered light injuries, police said.

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

“We are confirming the facts of the case,” Yoshizawa’s agency was quoted.

Yoshizawa joined Morning Musume in 2000. She left the group upon “graduating” in 2007. After marrying in 2015, she gave birth to a boy the following year.

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.

Later on Thursday, Yoshizawa was scheduled to appear at an event in the capital. However, her attendance was cancelled.