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A visually impaired Paralympian was struck by an autonomous bus in the athletes' village in Tokyo, Japanese news outlets reported on Friday.
The Paralympian, Japanese judo athlete Aramitsu Kitazono, has been bruised on his head and body, and will need two weeks to recover from his injuries, according to the Japanese Times.
Kitazono, 30, was struck by the self-driving "E-palette" vehicle on Thursday. The athlete was walking across a pedestrian crosswalk in the village around 2 p.m. when the vehicle hit him, the Asahi Shimbun reported. He received treatment for his injuries at a clinic inside the athletes' village.
The vehicle's two operators and five passengers were not injured during the accident, the news outlet noted, citing police.
Produced by Toyota, the bus is no longer operating within the athletes' village, the company said on Friday.
"Firstly, we would like to express our sincerest apologies to the individual that was injured due to this unfortunate collision and we wish them a speedy recovery. We would also like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to those who use our mobility vehicles in the Athletes' Village," the company said in a statement.
Toyota added that it is "fully cooperating with the police investigation into the incident in order to determine the cause of this accident."
"In addition, we will conduct our own thorough investigation into the cause of the accident and we will continue to coordinate closely with the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to ensure that we prevent any incidents from occurring in the future," the company said.
In December 2020, Toyota said that the E-palette vehicles were debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019, and would provide "a loop-line bus transportation service" for athletes and staff in the Olympic and Paralympic villages.
"The spread of COVID-19 this past year has changed the way we live our lives, creating more diverse needs for mobility that include transportation that enables proper distancing between passengers, and a future of transportation of goods and services rather than people moving about," the company said at the time.
The Tokyo Paralypmics began on Tuesday and are scheduled to run until September 5.
Kitazono's first match had been scheduled for Saturday, but his coach said he will miss it, according to Kyodo News.
Olympic officials did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment about the accident on Friday.
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Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more