In what police are calling Japan’s first death linked to Pokémon Go, a driver playing the smartphone game hit two pedestrians on Tuesday night, officials said.
The collision broke the neck of one woman, killing her, and left another woman with a broken hip, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Police in Tokushima, on the western Japanese island of Shikoku, told the Wall Street Journal the women were crossing the street when the car struck them. The man driving the car did not see them because was playing Pokémon Go.
Nintendo and Niantic, the companies behind the game, expressed condolences to the victims’ families, the New York Times reported. The game previously added safety warnings and tells users: “Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”
Since Pokémon Go launched earlier this year, people in the United States have reported being attacked and robbed while playing the game, and it has caused car crashes as well. Japanese police told the Wall Street Journal that there have been 79 accidents involving Pokémon Go since it came to the country on July 22, and 22 of those resulted in injuries.
- Mickey Guyton Is TIME's 2022 Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022
- Column: What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Free Speech
- The Forgotten Story of One of the First U.S. Soldiers Killed Overseas After Pearl Harbor
- Why You're More Likely to Get Sick in the Winter, According to New Research
- Column: What the Protests Tell Us About China's Future
- 18 Last-Minute Gifts for Everyone on Your List
- Despite World Cup Heartbreak, the Future Looks Bright for Men's Soccer in the U.S.
