NAHA, Okinawa — A 14-year-old dependent of a Marine warrant officer spent the night in Japanese police custody Friday, accused of striking a taxi with a car owned by a friend’s father, then running away from the scene.

According to an Okinawa police spokesman, the girl was driving a sport utility vehicle when she apparently hit a taxi from behind at 10:15 p.m. in Naha’s Matsuyama district.

She then ran from the scene, leaving behind her 8-year-old brother and three friends, the spokesman said.

She was caught a short distance from the scene, he said.

The ninth-grader, who was released from custody Saturday afternoon, faces possible charges of driving without a license and fleeing the scene of an accident, the police spokesman said.

The girl told police she’d driven to Naha from Camp Lester, where she lives.

Police said they’re also investigating another hit-and- run accident in Naha, involving a parked car, which occurred some 15 minutes before the taxi was struck.

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