Five former executives of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. have been formally charged in connection with a cover up of a design flaw that caused a wheel to fly off a truck and kill a pedestrian.

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The Associated Press (AP) said three executives – including Takashi Usami, 63, who was vice president at Mitsubishi Motors when the January 2002 accident occurred – were charged with violating transportation laws. The three allegedly falsified data submitted to industry regulators to cover up the vehicle defects.


Another two former executives, including Hiroshi Murakawa, former head of quality control at Mitsubishi Motors, were charged with administrative negligence resulting in death, AP reported, adding that two other company officials arrested along with the group earlier this month were not charged for lack of evidence.


Mitsubishi Motor’s truck-making affiliate, Mitsubishi Fuso, reportedly said in a statement that it takes the indictment of its former employees “very seriously” and pledged to improve its quality measures.

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