A U.S. Marine was arrested following a hit-and-run crash on Route 58 in Naha, Okinawa, May 25, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — Japanese prosecutors have indicted a U.S. Marine who allegedly fled the scene of a drunken driving crash last month that injured four people, including two children.
Lance Cpl. Ivan Garciamartinez, 20, assigned to Camp Hansen, was charged Friday with driving under the influence of alcohol, negligent driving resulting in injury and leaving the scene of an accident, according to an indictment sheet provided by the Naha Public Prosecutors Office.
Garciamartinez, a California native serving with the 3rd Marine Division, is accused to violating multiple articles of Japan’s Road Traffic Act. Prosecutors, not police, decide charges under the Japanese justice system.
“We are deeply grateful that no lives were lost and remain hopeful for a full recovery for all those affected,” division spokesman Maj. Clayton Groover said in an email May 28. He added that the Marine Corps was fully cooperating with the investigation.
Garciamartinez was driving north on Route 58 in Naha’s Aja district at 10:29 a.m. on May 25 when he struck a roadside water tank, lost control and collided with a northbound car carrying a family of five, according to Okinawa Prefectural Police.
The impact caused the family’s vehicle to overturn, the indictment states.
Garciamartinez was traveling 70 kph — about 43 mph — and heading for an overpass when he attempted to switch lanes, according to the indictment. The posted speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 kph.
He failed to check traffic conditions before merging and “recklessly changed course,” according to the indictment.
Police said Garciamartinez’s blood-alcohol content was about twice Japan’s legal limit of 0.03%. By comparison, the legal limit in the United States is 0.08%.
The indictment states he did not stop or render aid after the crash. Police apprehended him more than 300 feet from the scene and escorted him back, where he was questioned and arrested, according to Naha police.
Police said the crash injured four people in the family’s vehicle: a 36-year-old woman driving the car; her 39-year-old husband; and two of their children — a 10-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. A 1-year-old girl in the back seat was not hurt.
The driver injured her left thumb, requiring a week to heal, according to the indictment. One passenger suffered a broken sternum, requiring 11 weeks to heal. Another was injured on the head, requiring two weeks to heal, and the final passenger suffered scratches on the chin, requiring a week to heal.
Prosecutors declined to say which injuries corresponded to which victims.
Police said another person, not identified, was also in Garciamartinez’s vehicle at the time of the crash.
Garciamartinez is in custody at Naha Police Station, according to a spokesman on the phone Monday. Some Japanese government officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
