The wife of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant and Mormon missionary sentenced to three years in Japanese jail for a crash that killed two while he was having a medical episode has called on the White House to help bring him home.
Lt. Ridge Alkonis, 34, reported to prison on Monday to serve three years for negligent driving that caused the deaths of two people in Fujinomiya, Japan, in May 2021.
His family and wife, Brittany, however, said the father of three had fallen unconscious at the wheel due to altitude sickness and had been unfairly tried due to his status as an American military officer, Fox News reported.
She’s now calling on President Joe Biden to join U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to get her husband home to America after their appeal was shut down.
‘I feel like we kind of hit the ceiling here,’ Brittany told Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning. ‘Other than Rahm Emanuel who we had a conversation with and I’m hopeful he can help, but we need the White House as well.’
Brittany Alkonis, wife of U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, has called on the White House to help bring her husband home after he was sentenced to three years in prison in Japan
The father of three went hiking in Mt. Fuji with his family on May 29, 2021, when they said he suddenly passed out behind the wheel from altitude sickness, killing two people
Alkonis’ family claims his human rights were violated and that he had been tried unfairly due to a ‘history of resentment’ against the U.S. Military presence in Japan
The fatal crash killed an 85-year-old woman and her 54-year-old son in law, and injured the woman’s daughter, 53. The Alkonises committed to paying a record $1.65 million apology settlement to the family of the victims, a custom in Japan to show genuine regret and sorrow
HEADACHE, DIZZINESS AND FATIGUE ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF ALTITUDE SICKNESS
Altitude sickness occurs when someone experiences a change in altitudes that affects oxygen intake.
Mild symptoms include a headache, dizziness and fatigue.
More severe symptoms include shortness of breath, extreme weakness, vomiting and congestion, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Symptoms usually begin 12 to 24 hours after the change in altitude, with the more severe symptoms kicking in after a gradual decline in physical condition.
In extreme conditions High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or High-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) can kick in. HAPE causes excess fluid in the lungs, while HACE invokes excess fluid in the brain due to the change in elevation.
HAPE can cause extreme fatigue and weakness, along with the feeling of suffocation.
HACE can cause loss of coordination, disorientation, memory loss and psychotic behavior.
HACE is the most common form of extreme altitude sickness and usually comes slowly. If the symptoms are ignored, they can progress to causing unconsciousness and even death.
Recalling the tragic events of May 29, 2021, Brittany told Fox & Friends that she, Alkonis, and their three kids were returning from a hiking trip in Mt. Fuji when the accident happened.
She said Alkonis was in mid-sentence with his oldest daughter when he suddenly lost consciousness and the car slammed against three pedestrians and five cars at a restaurant parking lot, killing an 85-year-old woman and her 54-year-old son in law, and injuring her daughter, 53.
Alkonis testified that he was struck by a case of altitude sickness, a finding supported by a neurologist’s diagnosis, but a Japanese judge said it was unlikely that the lieutenant could go from not feeling drowsy at all to suddenly being incapacitated.
Brittany condemned the judge’s ruling, saying, ‘She has no medical experience to make that opinion.
‘And in the appeal we did actually file the medical diagnosis,’ she added. ‘The prosecutor asked for it to be thrown out due to the fact that he did not feel it was relevant so the judge threw it out.’
According to the Cleveland Clinic, altitude sickness occurs when someone experiences a change in elevation, and it typically involves feelings of dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath and extreme weakness. Losing consciousness is not among the common symptoms.
Brittany also claims Japan violated Alkonis’ human rights, forcing him to go through 26 days of confinement — three more days than what is normally allowed under Japanese law, as well as eight-hour interrogations.
Japanese officials, however, said Alkonis was held within the allowed 23 days and then formally charged.
Brittany, together with Alkonis’ parents, Suzi and Derek, also claims that the lieutenant faced an unfair trial because of a ‘history of resentment’ against the U.S. Military presence in Japan.
A 2014 AP investigation found the U.S. service members judged guilty of sex crimes in Japan did not go to prison, but were instead dealt with demotions, fines or discharged from the military.
Alkonis’ family believes he was caught in the middle of politics, which is why Japan did not follow the usual Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
Under SOFA, Japanese authorities are required to release offenders to U.S. custody unless they can prove ‘adequate cause and necessity’ to detain the alleged criminal.
The navy official’s family claims a judge unjustly threw out a 2021 diagnosis that Alkonis fell unconscious due to altitude sickness. A Japanese judge said it was unlikely that the lieutenant could go from not feeling drowsy at all to suddenly being incapacitated
The crash occurred at a restaurant parking lot where Alkonis struck three people and five cars
Pictured: one of the car’s wrecked in the May 2021 car crash in Fujinomiya, Japan
Alkonis, pictured playing board games with his family, reported to prison on Monday
The Alkonises said it was not right for Japanese officials to punish their family over the accident.
Suzi and Derek told Fox that their son had committed to paying a record $1.65 million apology settlement to the family of the victims, a custom in Japan to show genuine regret and sorrow.
They, too, have called on President Joe Biden to directly intervene and free their son from prison.
‘The White House needs to come forward and say ‘You’re our ally, but you made a mistake here,” Suzi said. ‘He needs to come home right now so this never happens again.’
Along with Ambassador Emanuel, the push to get Alkonis home has seen bipartisan support, with U.S. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, a Democrat, calling for the navy official’s release.
‘I will not be giving up on Lt. Alkonis and the Department of Defense must not either,’ Levin said in a statement asking for the Biden Administration’s aid.
Lee, who has repeatedly called on Biden’s direct help, said that Alkonis’ case may set a dangerous precedent for American military personnel in Japan.
‘It’s not just about Ridge Alkonis and his family,’ the senator told Fox. ‘It’s about the security and confidence needed by every service family in the American armed forces deployed whether in Japan or anywhere else – they need to know that we’ve got their backs.’
U.S. officials fear Alkonis’ case may set a dangerous precedent for American military personnel in Japan. Pictured: Alkonis in his uniform with his wife and one of his children
This is not the first case involving a U.S. official caught in a car crash while overseas.
In 2019, a British teenager, Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a car crash outside an American spy base in the UK by a American diplomat’s wife, Anne Sacoolas, who claimed diplomatic immunity and left the country.
It was reported in initial findings by police that Harry had been driving on the correct side of the road when a woman in a car pulled off of the airbase and onto the wrong side of the roadway.
In 2020, an extradition request submitted by the Home Office to bring Sacoolas to the UK was rejected by the US State Department.
The car hit Dunn head-on and he died soon after in hospital after suffering multiple injuries.
Dunn’s parents filed a lawsuit against Sacoolas in 2020, with the two parties agreeing to a settlement last year.
The teenager’s family’s spokesman Radd Seiger said an agreement had been ‘reached successfully between the parties and they can put this part of the campaign behind them’.
Harry’s parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, turned their focus to any future criminal case – which remains ongoing.
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