A U.S. Air Force captain was killed in a motorcycle accident near Joint Base Charleston, S.C. on Friday.
The airman was identified as Cpt. Raymond Zheng. Following the accident, Capt. Zheng was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of the motorcycle accident is still under investigation. The Charleston police are investigating the crash, according to the Post and Courier.
“Team Charleston is devastated by the loss of our Airman and brother,” said Col. Robert Lankford, 437th Airlift Wing commander. “We express our deepest sympathies to Ray’s family, friends and the Airmen who have worked alongside him. Everyone who met Ray knows how much of an impact he brought to the mission. He will be deeply missed.”
Zheng was a C-17 pilot assigned to the 14th Airlift Squadron.
Joint Base Charleston said those in need of counseling resources can contact a base chaplain, the mental health professionals, military and family life counselors, unit first sergeants and their chain of command. Phone numbers for most of which can be found at www.jbcharleston.jb.mil.
Joint Base Charleston serves as a base of operations for C-17 Globemasters operated by the 437th Airlift Wing (437 AW) of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and the 315th Airlift Wing (315 AW) of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). The base serves as a host to over 60 Department of Defense and Federal agencies, owns $7.5 billion in property, and also operates three locomotives used to move crucial munitions, armored vehicles and tanks.
The fatal crash near Joint Base Charleston came two days after another airman was killed and three more people were injured on Wednesday afternoon after a vehicle crashed on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
The deceased airman, who was assigned to the 81st Training Wing, was killed after the vehicle accident involving pedestrians at around 1:25 p.m. The base did not specify whether the deceased airman was the driver of the vehicle or one of the pedestrians.
