CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Camp Foster Marine was killed Sunday when he lost control of his motorcycle on Highway 331 in Nago’s Teniya district, according to Okinawa police.

The Marine was identified by police as Sgt. Dereck A. Lancaster, 27, assigned as an electrician to Headquarters and Service Battalion. According to the accident report, Lancaster was riding north on the highway at 10:24 a.m. when his 1,000cc motorcycle swerved off the road on a curve and slammed into some trees.

Lancaster, a native of Gaithersburg, Md., was taken to Hokubu Hospital in Nago, where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 a.m. from a cardiac arrest and internal injuries. His body was transported by military ambulance to the U.S. Naval Hospital on Camp Lester.

An Okinawa police spokesman said police are investigating the accident’s cause but do not believe speeding, alcohol or a slippery road surface contributed to it; he said they believe Lancaster failed to manage the curve on an unfamiliar road.

Lancaster is survived by a wife and three children.

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