U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis’s wife is speaking out for his release after he had a medical episode that caused an accident where two pedestrians were killed in Japan.
Lt. Alkonis was found guilty of causing a car accident that resulted in the deaths of two people and received a three-year prison sentence in Japan, according to Fox News.
The Navy lieutenant’s wife, Brittany Alkonis, said during her recent interview with Fox News Digital that she is making every effort to reconnect her children with their father.
“This is really about my kids, while it is hard for us, the ones really paying the price for this and for the alliance and politics are my kids,” Brittany Alkonis, wife of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, said “They are young and in formative years of their life. They need a father.”
Shortly before Lt. Alkonis was set to deploy, the family took a hike on Japan’s Mt. Fuji, after which Lt. Alkonis suffered a medical event while behind the wheel, causing the accident that ended in two deaths.
Brittany Alkonis recalled the accident saying, “That day we drove from sea level and by the end of [the] hike we were at over 8,000 feet.”
She continued, “We hiked until we thought it was getting a little too dangerous for the kids and decided to head back. We were just 5 minutes from our destination, Ridge was mid-conversation with our oldest daughter when he lost all consciousness. We were only going about 25 mph, but he did not regain consciousness.”
And here are three more. @POTUS @JoeBiden @SecBlinken @StateSPEHA @SecDef https://t.co/hViRzZJf31 pic.twitter.com/bJJ3ybD3W1
— Brittany Alkonis (@BrittanyAlkonis) July 22, 2022
Lt. Alkonis was detained while authorities investigated the accident, which his wife thought was standard procedure. However, her husband was soon the target of interrogations and solitary incarceration and was never freed from custody.
“This wasn’t a drunk driver, he didn’t fall asleep, but it only went downhill from there,” Brittany Alkonis said.
The Navy officer was later diagnosed with acute mountain illness due to a too quick ascent from high altitudes. The illness is known to cause sudden fainting for up to 24 hours. However, according to the Fox News report, the diagnosis proved to be little help with the Japanese judicial system.
An attorney informed the family that it was Japanese custom to show remorse rather than plead innocence, which the family did, issuing a formal apology and agreeing to pay a $1.65 million settlement.
While the family was told that around 95% of those who made similar concessions were given suspended sentences, Lt. Alkonis was given the full three years.
“If we did know he’d go to prison anyway, we would’ve told them no,” Brittany Alkonis said, saying the trial and appeal had equally disappointing outcomes.
Thank you for your leadership @MikeLevin ! Let’s keep working until we #bringridgehome https://t.co/cpLwKITwXE
— Brittany Alkonis (@BrittanyAlkonis) July 22, 2022
Additionally, Brittany Alkonis thinks that one of the reasons her husband isn’t getting fair treatment is that a powerful prosecutor is related to one of the people who was killed in the accident.
“One of the deceased is a family member of a prosecutor in the Tokyo high court who has a lot of influence,” Brittany Alkonis said. “I believe that has something to do with his sentencing.