Ex-Orix pitcher Maekawa gets suspended prison sentence over hit-and-run accident

[Anchorman]

OSAKA -- Former Orix Buffaloes pitcher Katsuhiko Maekawa was handed a suspended prison sentence on Monday, after the Osaka District Court found him guilty of injuring a woman in a traffic accident while driving without a license.

The court sentenced the 28-year-old to two years' imprisonment, suspended for four years. In handing down the ruling, judge Akira Maruta blasted Maekawa's actions.

"Fearing that his life as a (baseball) player would end, he tried to hide the evidence, delaying the inevitable in an ugly way," Maruta said.

Maekawa was convicted of hitting a woman on a bicycle at an intersection in Osaka's Chuo-ku at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, leaving her with leg injuries, and then fleeing the scene. He also allegedly drove at least three other times without a license when he attended training sessions and a golf competition, the court heard.

During the hearing, Maruta said Maekawa had "remarkably low respect for social morality." However, in giving a reason for handing him a suspended sentence, the judge said, "He has already been dismissed from the baseball team, and he had shown a repentant attitude."

Facing reporters after the ruling, Maekawa said, "This accident showed me that baseball is the only thing I have. I want to build up my physique and make an effort to become a baseball player again." (Mainichi)
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