The mother of a U.S. Marine was taken to a hospital in critical condition after a vehicle crash at the Chatan intersection on Route 58 in Chatan town, Okinawa, seen here on Sept. 23, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine was injured and his mother was hospitalized in critical condition over the weekend after their vehicle crashed into another car at a dangerous intersection on Okinawa’s main highway, according to police.
The Marine, 33, was southbound at 2:08 a.m. Sunday on Route 58 in Chatan town when his vehicle collided with a northbound car turning right onto Road 130, an Okinawa city police spokesman said by phone Monday.
The Marine, a member of the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, was taken to U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa on Foster with unspecified injuries and released Tuesday, III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman Capt. Colin Kennard told Stars and Stripes by email that day.
A civilian passenger was also taken the naval hospital, added Kennard, who declined to identify the Marine or his passenger.
The police spokesman identified that passenger as the Marine’s 63-year-old mother. She was taken to the hospital without a pulse and remained there as of Monday evening, he said.
A Japanese man, 20, from Uruma city, driving the second vehicle was uninjured. He had turned after confirming the light was green, the spokesman said.
The accident is under investigation, the spokesman said.
However, “there is no indication of any wrongdoing by the Marine,” who was not issued a citation, Kennard said.
The intersection, near Camp Foster’s Gate 4, or “Spot” gate, and before the popular nightlife district American Village, is one of the busiest and most dangerous on Route 58. Ten accidents — the most at any intersection on Okinawa — occurred there in 2022, according to the Okinawa Prefectural Police website.
Some Japanese government officials speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
AloJapan.com