Air Force E-8 on Okinawa suspected of drunken driving, causing accident
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A U.S. airman remained in Okinawa police custody Tuesday after he allegedly caused a chain-reaction traffic accident while driving under the influence of alcohol at six times the legal limit, police said.
Senior Master Sgt. Eric Simmons, 41, of Kadena Air Base, was driving after curfew in Uruma at 11:36 p.m. Sunday when his car struck a vehicle in front of him at an intersection, pushing it into a third car, according to a spokesman for Okinawa prefectural police in Uruma. No injuries were reported.
A breathalyzer test detected an alcohol level of six times the legal limit of 0.15 milligrams per liter of exhaled breath, the police said.
An 11 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew was imposed on all servicemembers in Japan after the alleged rape of an Okinawa women by two U.S. sailors in October.
Police said Simmons told them that he was on his way to work at Kadena from his off-base home in Uruma, the police said.
Kadena officials said the incident is under investigation and that the military is cooperating with local authorities.
