A 31-year-old man was arrested Monday at the scene of a major multivehicle crash in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, that injured eight people, including children.

The driver, a resident of Osaka¡¯s Naniwa Ward, was taken into custody on suspicion of drunken driving after a breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol level was approximately three times the legal limit. He has admitted to the charges.

The crash occurred around 11:20 a.m. on a prefectural road in Yokosuka, near the Yokosuka-chuo Station, amid heavy Golden Week foot traffic. The driver¡¯s car first rear-ended a stationary bus before veering into the opposite lane and colliding with several vehicles, including a second bus and a taxi. In total, nine vehicles were involved and 10 people were taken to the hospital, with eight, including two children, suffering minor injuries.

Dashcam footage and eyewitness accounts described the car barreling through a red light at high speed, forcing pedestrians to leap out of the way.

¡°It sounded like a car was racing ¡ª definitely around 70 or 80 kilometers an hour,¡± one witness told Higashi Nippon Broadcasting.

Another bystander said, ¡°We were walking across when suddenly the car just flew through the intersection. There was no sign of braking at all.¡±

Later that night, a man in his 20s who had fled the crash scene turned himself in to police. The man, a resident of Yokohama, admitted to being in the car at the time of the crash but said he ¡°panicked after the accident and left the scene.¡± He is under investigation on suspicion of knowingly riding in a vehicle operated by an intoxicated driver, according to an NHK report.

Police are questioning him without detaining him as they work to determine whether he was aware of the driver¡¯s condition before the crash.

Authorities continue to investigate how the driver came to drive while heavily intoxicated.