Police are recommending a charge of negligent driving causing death for a U.S. sailor involved in a fatal collision on Route 16 near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Sept. 18, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Japanese police on Wednesday recommended a charge of negligent driving causing death against a sailor involved in a fatal collision outside the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Yokosuka city police allege the sailor, identified only as a 22-year-old man, made an illegal right turn at a five-way intersection near the Yokosuka base’s Womble Gate and collided head-on with a motorcyclist, a police spokesman said by phone Thursday.

The incident occurred at 6:42 p.m. on Sept. 18. The motorcyclist, a 22-year-old Japanese man from Yokosuka, was pronounced dead less than an hour later at a nearby hospital, the spokesman said.

Police interviewed the sailor and subsequently recommended to prosecutors a charge of negligent driving causing death, he said.

In Japan, prosecutors make charging decisions following a police investigation.

The sailor admitted he caused the accident and has apologized, the spokesman said. The sailor has been in U.S. military custody since the accident, he added.

Some government officials in Japan may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

Yokosuka Naval Base spokesman Justin Keller declined to confirm the sailor’s identity or custody status in an email Thursday to Stars and Stripes.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings,” he wrote.