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CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A vehicle collision involving an Army and Air Force Exchange Service employee killed a Japanese driver on Okinawa, according to the exchange service and Japanese police.

The AAFES employee, whose name was not released, was driving on Highway 329 in Okinawa City at 9:43 p.m. Wednesday when his vehicle swerved into the oncoming lane and struck the compact car of Koki Yogi, Okinawa prefecture police said Thursday.

Yogi, 19, of Tokai in Aichi prefecture on mainland Japan, was taken to Chubu Tokushukai Hospital and died at 2:34 a.m. Thursday, police said.

The AAFES employee was taken to U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa on Camp Lester, treated and released, the exchange service said.

The cause of the collision is still under investigation but no alcohol was detected on the American driver and he was not in Japanese custody on Thursday evening, Okinawa police spokesman Tateo Ishihara said.

“Including speed, the cause of the accident is under investigation,” Ishihara said.

Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp, spokesman for AAFES, said the exchange service would not release any more information.

Yogi was from Okinawa and had returned to his hometown to celebrate his 20th birthday, which is considered the entry into adulthood in Japan, according to police.

From staff reports

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