YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A civilian military maintainer who worked at the home of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo died in a motorcycle crash Saturday morning, according to Japanese police.
The victim, whom Air Force officials identified as a contractor but declined to name on Monday, was riding in the Minamidenen neighborhood of Fussa city at 9:23 a.m. when a minivan failed to give way at an intersection, a Fussa police spokesman said in a phone interview Monday.
The rider, whose motorcycle collided with the rear of the van, suffered head trauma, a skull fracture and brain contusion, the spokesman said. He was taken to a hospital in Tachikawa city and died later that morning.
The van driver, a local housewife in her 40s, was arrested and referred for prosecution for negligent driving resulting in death, the spokesman added. It’s customary in Japan for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
The crash is the second fatal accident involving a Yokota motorcyclist this year. Senior Airman Michael Spradlin, 28, of the 374th Maintenance Squadron, was killed in an on-base collision in February.
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