A car collision near Vilseck, Germany, resulted in the death of a 20-year-old U.S. soldier and two additional soldiers suffering serious injuries last Friday.
According to Stars and Stripes, the 20-year-old soldier was killed after the soldiers’ car collided into a tree. The three soldiers were reportedly driving on Bavarian State Road 2120 toward Vilseck at approximately 7:50 p.m., before the driver lost control of the Ford Focus vehicle, slipped of the road, and crashed sideways into a tree.
Police reported that the accident could have been the result of the vehicle “aquaplaning” on the water-covered road.
The driver, age 22, and the front seat passenger, age 20, were able to escape from the vehicle after the crash; however, the 20-year-old soldier located in the back seat remained trapped inside the Ford Focus.
While Vilseck firefighters were eventually able to remove the soldier from the vehicle and provide first aid on the scene, the young soldier was pronounced dead on site, according to Alexander Lerach, a spokesman for the Oberpfalz Police Department.
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Both of the soldiers in the front of the Ford Focus were transported to the hospital with serious injuries; however, emergency responders indicated that the injuries were not life-threatening.
Bavarian State Road 2120 was closed for several hours following the accident. Stars and Stripes reported that roughly 40 members of both the Vilseck and Schlicht volunteer fire departments, the Vilseck military police, an ambulance service, and two emergency physicians responded to the collision.
According to Oberpfalz police, an investigation into the accident and the cause of the 20-year-old soldier’s death remains ongoing. Release of the solider’s name will be determined by the U.S. military after the family is notified of the incident.
