Overview

• At around 6:40 a.m. on August 10, a kei car traveling the wrong way on the down line near Wakayama Junction collided head-on with an oncoming minivan.
• Six people, including a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, were injured but remained conscious and were taken to hospital.
• The kei car was driven by a man in his 50s with an 80-year-old passenger and the minivan carried a couple in their 30s and two children.
• NEXCO West Japan closed the expressway between Sennan Interchange and Wakayama Junction for more than two hours, reopening it at 9:05 a.m.
• The crash adds to a series of serious incidents on the Hanwa Expressway, prompting renewed scrutiny of tunnel safety features and emergency protocols.