TOKYO, Japan (April 16, 2004) — The chairman of a major Japanese truckmaker Mitsubishi Fuso resigned after a spate of recalls over defective wheels, one of which flew off a truck and killed a pedestrian.

Takashi Usami’s departure from Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. — which sells trucks worldwide, including class 6 and 7 models in the U.S. — came as police are investigating the company for allegedly covering up reported flaws.

In 2002, a wheel that came off a Mitsubishi truck struck and killed a woman and injured her two sons as they walked along a sidewalk in the city of Yokohama. Another 50 accidents related to wheel-offs from from heavy-duty trucks have been reported.

Yesterday, the Tokyo-based truckmaker — which is 43 per cent owned by DaimlerChrysler — announced an additional recall of 21,000 vehicles for possible wheel defects in trucks and buses produced from 1989-1992. That follows the recall of 220,000 trucks last month for defects to the front wheel assembly.

— from Associated Press