A USS Kitty Hawk sailor whom Japanese police accuse of involvement in a hit-and-run accident has been in their custody since Monday night and will remain so for 10 more days, a Navy spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Chief Petty Officer Natalie Dias, Kitty Hawk spokeswoman, said no official charges were filed at a magistrate hearing Wednesday but the sailor will be held until Nov. 26, when a decision will be made whether to arraign him, dismiss the charges or hold him for another 10 days. Japanese law lets a suspect be held up to 23 days after arrest and before indictment.
Dias said the incident was under investigation and that the Navy would release the sailor’s name only if he’s formally charged.
But a Yokosuka police spokesman told Stars and Stripes that the sailor’s name is Petty Officer 2nd Class Keshawny Ray Mack, 34. The spokesman said Mack is accused of hitting a moped driven by a 19-year-old Japanese woman about 9:30 p.m. Monday, some 1½ miles from Yokosuka Naval Base.
The spokesman said police believe Mack was trying to turn left at an intersection in Miharu town when he hit the Yokosuka city woman, who suffered minor injuries that police estimated will take 10 days to heal.
A witness called police and gave the license plate number, the spokesman said; Mack was arrested about 9:45 p.m. in front of the Yokosuka base main gate on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in bodily injury and violating the Road Traffic Law.
Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
