SENDAI -- A driver who crashed his car into a group of high school students in 2005 while driving under the influence of alcohol, killing three people and injuring 15 others, and his passenger were ordered to pay about 106.6 million yen in damages in a ruling at a local court Wednesday.

Ordered to pay damages were jailed driver Hikari Sato, 28, and a 29-year-old man who was in the vehicle at the time of the deadly accident, which occurred in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture.

The Sendai District Court ordered the passenger to pay damages on the grounds that he had been drinking with Sato for over six hours before the accident and asked Sato to drop him home instead of attempting to make him stop drinking or driving.

The accident occurred on May 22, 2005, when Sato went through a red light, hitting a group of high school students. Three victims were killed and 15 others were injured.

Sato was handed a 20-year prison sentence over the accident. The 29-year-old man had also been reported to public prosecutors, but criminal charges were not filed against him.

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