Four U.S. Army paratroopers were thrown from the military Humvee they were riding in during a deadly crash last week at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to investigators this week.
The Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps previously identified 23-year-old Spc. Luis Herrera as the paratrooper killed in the April 28 crash. Military Times has since learned, from the Army Combat Readiness Center’s initial report on the accident, that Herrera was “ejected” from the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee) he was riding in when the vehicle overturned.
Three other soldiers were in the vehicle at the time of the accident and they too were injured in the rollover. They were transported to the nearby Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC). The CRC said “initial reports” indicate the other three soldiers were also ejected in the rollover and none of them were wearing seatbelts at the time.
Herrera was assigned to Raider Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and was a junior infantryman.
Herrera is the fourth soldier to die in a military vehicle rollover accident so far this fiscal year, according to Military Times.
One soldier was killed at Fort Bragg in October in a rollover incident that injured four other soldiers.
Another soldier was killed in January after a trailer-mounted mobile kitchen unit tipped over.
Herrera had enlisted as an infantryman in the Army in November 2017 and he served on two deployments to Kuwait. He had received the Army Commendation Medal, two Army Achievement Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Parachutist Badge.
“Our thoughts and prayers, along with the Paratroopers of ‘Geronimo’ 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, are with Spc. Herrera’s wife and loved ones as we mourn the loss of Luis,” Capt. Daigoroh Abreu, Herrera’s company commander, said in a statement provided to American Military News. “Big Lou’s’ presence was a gift to us all, and his radiant smile brought warmth to all who knew him.”
