The 1996 Padilla car crash was a notorious incident that occurred in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 7 January 1996. Lori Padilla, a member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in Okinawa, was

speeding Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

in a car which swerved off the road, killing Rojita Kinjo and her young daughters Mitsuko and Mariko. The crash sparked outrage in Okinawa and strengthened opposition to the American presence in Japan, occurring only months after the 1995 Okinawan rape incident.

Crash

United States military facilities on Okinawa

At around 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 7, 1996, a car driven by Lori Padilla, a 20-year-old

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

of the

stationed in Okinawa as part of the

United States Forces Japan is a subordinate unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). It was activated at Fuchū Air Station in Tokyo, Japan, on 1 July 1957 to replace the Far East Command. USFJ is commanded by the Commander, US Forces ...

, crashed at the Kitamae gate to

Camp Foster Camp Foster, formerly known as Camp Zukeran ( ja, キャンプ・フォスター), is a United States Marine Corps camp located in Ginowan City with portions overlapping into Okinawa City, Chatan town and Kitanakagusuku village in the Japanese ...

Route 58 The following highways are numbered 58: International * European route E58 Australia * Riverina Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 58 * Highway 58 (Ontario) * Saskatchewan Highway 58 Finland * Finnish national road 58 India * National Highway ...

, located on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

.Page 45-47 - Page 7 - The car struck and killed Rojita Kinjo, a 36-year-old Japanese civilian, and her two young daughters, 10-year-old Mitsuko and 1-year-old Mariko. Padilla and passenger Carrie Smith, a 21-year-old

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

in the US Marines, were slightly injured and taken to a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

hospital.Page 7 - Okinawa police stated that Padilla had abruptly changed lanes and lost control of her car because she was driving too fast. The US military was criticized for refusing requests by the Japanese authorities for access to Padilla or to administer a breathalyzer test, as standard Japanese procedure calls for

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

testing to rule out

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

as the cause of the crash. The incident brought to light one of many grievances felt by the people of Okinawa towards the US military presence on the island chain, and after the Padilla crash it was revealed that over a thousand car crashes involving US military personnel occurred in Okinawa per year. From 1997, US soldiers were required to have two forms of

car insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury r ...

, the Japanese Compulsory Insurance and an additional comprehensive insurance.

Trial

Padilla was eventually given a two-year jail sentence and the Kinjo family sued Padilla and the co-owner of the car for 62 million (US$ 580,000 in 1996, US$ in )

solatium Solatium (plural ''solatia'') is a form of compensation for emotional rather than physical or financial harm. The word entered English during the 1810s, as a loanword from Latin or . World examples England & Wales Section 1A of the Fatal Ac ...

or blood money. The court ruled that the defendants should pay the money, but had already left Japan and Padilla had no money or insurance. The American government eventually paid 25 million yen and the Japanese government paid the difference.

Aftermath

The Padilla crash was the second of three notorious events of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

by United States servicemen in Okinawa during the mid-to-late 1990s which strengthened opposition to American military presence in Japan. The crash occurred only four months after the 1995 Okinawa rape incident, where two US Marines and a US Navy

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stationed at

Camp Hansen Camp Hansen is a United States Marine Corps base located in Okinawa, Japan. The camp is situated in the town of Kin, near the northern shore of Kin Bay, and is the second-northernmost major installation on Okinawa, with Camp Schwab to the north ...

rented a van then

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

and

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

a 12-year-old Japanese girl in Okinawa, sparking significant outrage among the populace. Two years after the Padilla crash, the 1998 Eskridge car crash occurred when a US Marine struck a Japanese teenager while drunk driving, entering a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

and dying from her injuries a week later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Lori Crime in Japan Japan–United States relations Politics of Japan United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture 1996 in Japan United States military scandals United States Marine Corps in the 20th century Road incidents in Japan 1996 road incidents 1996 disasters in Japan

Crash

Trial

Aftermath

See also

References