CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A 16-year-old American high school student was in Okinawan police custody Wednesday, accused by them of being involved in a car chase and hit-and-run collision, according to a spokesman for Okinawa prefectural police in Uruma.
The police spokesman identified the student as the 16-year-old son of a U.S. civilian base employee living on Kadena Air Base.
According to the police report, the crash took place shortly after a police patrol spotted a car with a covered license plate speeding down a road in Yomitan on Tuesday night. The report stated the officers gave chase but broke it off after the car sped down Highway 58 in Ishikawa, near Uruma.
A police spokesman said the officers saw the car, which at about 10:20 p.m. was being driven along Highway 329 in the Enobi district of Uruma. He said they saw it swerve into an oncoming lane and collide with a car driven by a 33-year-old Japanese woman, then drive off.
The spokesman said the 16-year-old was taken into custody when he returned to the accident scene about 90 minutes later. He said the youth’s reason for being at the site at 12:05 a.m. remains under investigation.
The woman sustained bruises and other minor injuries to her neck and chest, according to police. The collision remains under police investigation but speeding is considered a factor, the police spokesman said.
