A Marine charged with driving recklessly and fleeing the scene of a crash received a suspended sentence in Naha District Court on Okinawa, May 23, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese court sentenced a U.S. Marine to a 26-month suspended sentence Thursday after he admitted driving recklessly and fleeing the scene of a crash that injured three locals last year.
Sgt. Camilo Escobar, 24, was found guilty of violating Japanese traffic law and negligent driving resulting in injury in the Sep. 16 incident.
Naha District Court Judge Takashi Kato suspended Escobar’s sentence for five years, “the maximum limit a sentence can be suspended,” Kato said. The Marine will not serve the prison term if he commits no further offenses in Japan.
Escobar was driving a sedan southbound on Route 58 in Ginowan city when his car collided with a gray Daihatsu Move, according to the charge sheet provided by the prosecutors’ office. He was going about 48 mph over the speed limit.
The collision injured three people in the Daihatsu: A man in the rear seat suffered a broken hip and two women up front received minor injuries, according to the charge sheet.
Police found the sedan a short distance from the crash site and watched Escobar flee on foot, leaving two Marine passengers behind, a city police spokesman said at the time.
Police had stopped Escobar earlier for speeding, the judge said from the bench.
“You received a warning from a police officer at a red light for speeding prior to the crash,” Kato said after handing down the sentence. “You were excited driving your friend’s car without looking at the speedometer. You had no awareness of safe driving.”
Escobar pleaded guilty on May 16 in Naha District Court and offered an apology.
“I’d like to apologize to the victims and their families. I committed a very shameful action,” he said in court, public broadcaster NHK reported that day.
Escobar was not drinking at the time, an Okinawa prefectural police spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. He was not arrested before being charged.
Some government spokespeople in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Marine Corps Installations Pacific did not immediately respond Thursday to requests seeking comment.
Escobar sat calmly in a black suit and blue tie as Kato delivered the sentence.
“You were in panic, got scared and fled the scene,” the judge said. “This is considered selfish behavior.”
Kato cited Escobar’s lack of a criminal record and the compensation, which an insurance company will pay the victims, as reasons to suspend the sentence.
