Sunday, July 18, 1999

Teen singer killed in Hokkaido car crash
Mainichi Shimbun

NAKASATSUNAI, Hokkaido - A singer who was to make her CD debut in less than one week was killed in a car accident after her car flipped over on a country road on Friday evening, police said.

Hiromi Yanagihara, 19, of the group Country Musume, was driving alone on a road near her home around 5 p.m. in Nakasatsunai, Hokkaido, when her recreational vehicle (RV) crashed into a roadside ditch sending her flying from the car.

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Country Musume has the most rocky history of any other Hello Project group. The theme of this group was 'country girls from Hokkaido.' They began with three members, Rinne Toda, Azusa Kobayashi and Hiromi Yanagihara. After the release of their first single, Hiromi died in a car accident.

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Hiromi falleció en un trágico accidente de tráfico el 17 de julio de 1999. Que descanse en paz.

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Hiromi Yanagihara