A U.S. Navy sailor was killed and five other sailors were injured after a crash involving a convoy of military trucks on Interstate 5 in California on Tuesday.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Juan Escobar told the San Diego Union Tribune the crash occurred at around 6:50 a.m. and south of Basilone Road, which connects Interstate 5 and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
The name of the 26-year-old deceased sailor is being withheld pending next of kin notifications.
Escobar said, “One of the truck trailers was pushed forward into the cab, causing fatal injuries to the driver,” who died at the scene.
The sailor’s death and the injuries to other service members was reportedly caused by a chain-reaction incident and the crash is under investigation.
Navy Region Southwest spokesman Brian O’Rourke told the Tribune the Navy sailor was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 based out of Naval Base Ventura County.
The other injured sailors included three men and two women, all aged in their 20s. Escobar said one of the men suffered serious injuries while the four other sailors suffered minor injuries. The sailors were taken to Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital and Mission Hospital in Orange County for medical treatment.
Police closed two southbound lanes of traffic and vehicles were backed up to the Orange County line into the afternoon following the accident.
The crash comes on the same day at least 15 people were killed and multiple others were injured when an SUV collided with a struck a semi-truck full of gravel in Imperial County, Calif. 27 people were believed to have been in the SUV, which ran into the semi-truck.
Two U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas were killed in separate traffic accidents in January.
Several other military personnel have been killed in helicopter and plane crashes so far in 2021.
Two pilots were killed in a Feb. 19 T-38 jet crash in Alabama, including a Japan Air Self-Defense Force and a U.S. Air Force pilot.
Three New York National Guard soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash near Rochester, New York on Jan. 20.
