A Honda Fit involved in a hit-and-run June 22, 2024, is impounded at a police lot in Okinawa city, June 25, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japanese police arrested a U.S. soldier assigned to Kadena Air Base over the weekend on suspicion of drunken driving, colliding with another vehicle and fleeing the scene.

The 22-year-old Army specialist was taken into custody at 7 a.m. Saturday on a road in the Rycom district of Kitanakagusuku village, a spokesman for Okinawa Prefectural Police told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday. 

A witness told police the specialist hit another vehicle at 5:17 a.m. and left the scene, the spokesman said. Police found her car, a Honda Fit, about a mile from the crash site at 5:24 a.m., he said.

The spokesman declined to provide details of the crash citing ongoing investigations. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

Stars and Stripes could not reach the specialist for comment Tuesday.

A Breathalyzer test at the scene measured her blood alcohol content at 0.09%, three times the legal limit for driving in Japan, the spokesman said. By comparison, all 50 U.S. states have set 0.08% as the legal limit for driving under the influence or while impaired.

The specialist was still in police custody Tuesday, the spokesman said.

Police sent the case to prosecutors on Monday, he said. No court date has been set in the case.

U.S. Army Garrison Okinawa did not respond to an email Tuesday seeking information on the soldier.

Driving under the influence of alcohol may result in up to five years in prison or up to $6,277 in fines, according to Japan’s Road Traffic Act. 

Leaving an accident scene may result in up to one year in prison or up to $627 in fines, and failing to report an accident could bring up to three months in prison or up to $313 in fines.