Marine just returned from Afghanistan struck, killed in Bay Area

UPDATE

'He survived all the bullets and bombs': Tragedy as US Marine just back from Afghanistan killed by drunken driver while out for a ride on new motorcycle

Marine Lance Cpl Andrew Silva, 23, returned to his wife and 2-year-old son in February after serving six months in Helmand Province

Alexander Yohn, 23, was charged with murder in the suspected Fremont, California, DUI crash Yohn, an EMT, told police he was heroin addict and alcoholic, and that he had at least five shots before getting into his Mini Cooper

Silva planned to go back to college and launch a career in law enforcement
read more on Daily Mail UK

Marine just returned from Afghanistan struck, killed in Bay Area
By a Los Angeles Times staff writer
March 26, 2014, 7:07 a.m.
A U.S. Marine who had recently returned from Afghanistan was struck and killed in the Bay Area on Tuesday by a man suspected of driving under the influence.

Alexander Yohn, 23, of Emeryville, was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m. after an employee of a Fremont Taco Bell called to report that a drive-thru customer appeared intoxicated, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
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Arizona National Guardsman killed on highway

Flagstaff man killed on Interstate 40 was an Iraq War veteran
Arizona Daily Sun
By ERIC BETZ Sun staff reporter
March 14, 2014

A 30-year-old Flagstaff man was killed last night after he stopped to retrieve a rabbit cage that flew out of his truck bed near the Butler exit on Interstate 40.

Arizona Highway Patrol officials said that Clint Orozco had stepped out into the lane at about 7:30 p.m. last night when he was hit by a 21-year-old Flagstaff woman driving a Ford sedan. Orozco was declared dead at the scene.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials say he was married with children and was a full-time member of the National Guard. He had served multiple tours in Iraq.
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Texas Army National Guardsman Killed by DUI Driver

Soldier Killed in Wreck on His Way to Drills
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
by Domingo Ramirez Jr.
Mar 11, 2014

Brandon Bennett, 20, of Hurst was on his way to Lewisville for drills at the Texas Army National Guard early Sunday when he was struck and killed in a traffic accident in Euless.

The other driver, Beth Branum, 29, of Granbury remained in the Euless Jail on Monday with bail set at $15,000. She faces a charge of intoxication manslaughter in connection with the accident. Branum was taken into custody by Euless police after being treated and released from Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.

Bennett's mother, Brenda Holden of Hurst, fought back tears Monday as she talked about her son, a graduate of L.D. Bell High School.
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Navy finds missteps in deadly SEAL Humvee crash at Fort Knox

Navy finds missteps in deadly SEAL Humvee crash at Fort Knox
Associated Press
Published: March 1, 2014

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A series of missteps led to a deadly Humvee accident last May at Kentucky's Fort Knox, a Navy investigation concludes.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan H. Kaloust of Massapequa, N.Y., was partially ejected and killed during the training exercise, which was conducted under "blacked out" conditions. That means the vehicle's headlights were off and the sailors participating in the exercise were wearing night goggles.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Saturday the incident prompted Naval Special Warfare Command to re-examine its safety requirements for Humvee training missions. The heavily redacted investigative report was obtained Friday by the Norfolk newspaper through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report said the accident could have been prevented.

The Humvee was among three loaded with Navy SEALs from Virginia Beach during the training exercise along a remote gravel road.
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Marine killed trying to help after chain reaction crash

Marine's Body Arrives Home
February 28, 2014
By WKBW News

CHEEKTOWAGA (WKBW) Twenty year old Richard Jones was a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps and a former volunteer firefighter in Niagara Falls. His body was flown home on Friday as more information is released on how he died, trying to help others.

A hearse flying two American flags, flanked by family, friends, and several first responders left the Buffalo Airport, transporting the flag draped casket of Marine Richard Jones.

UPDATE
Marine from Niagara Falls dies in California accident
"Chief Bruce Mack of the Frontier Volunteer Fire Company in Wheatfield confirmed that the victim was Ricky Jones, 20, a Niagara Falls High School graduate who came up through the company’s Youth Program and became a firefighter when he turned 18. He is the son of Niagara Falls Police Detective Daniel Jones."

Marine Killed in I-8 Chain Reaction Crash
The Marine may have been killed after getting out of his truck, while attempting to dodge an oncoming vehicle
NBC San Diego
By Diana Guevara and Monica Garske
Saturday, Feb 22, 2014

U.S. Marine was killed in a chain reaction-type crash along Interstate 8 in San Diego Saturday morning, possibly while attempting to jump out of the way of an oncoming vehicle, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The fatal accident, which involved several vehicles, happened just after 5 a.m. along westbound I-8 at the State Route 163 interchange in the Mission Valley area.

CHP officials said a woman was driving a Honda Civic on westbound I-8 when, for unknown reasons, she lost control, striking a nearby barrier before coming to a halt in the middle of the freeway. Shortly thereafter, officials said three other cars slammed into the Honda in a chain reaction.

According to CHP officials, one of those vehicles, a Ford truck, was occupied by two Marines who were headed to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). After colliding into the wreckage, the Marines got out of their truck and walked over to the woman in the Honda to help.
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Camp Lejeune Marine died after being hit by car

UPDATE: 22-year-old Marine dies after being struck by car
Star News Online
Jason Gonzales
Published: Sunday, February 16, 2014

WILMINGTON

The driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a 22-year-old Marine pedestrian early Sunday on Rose Avenue has been charged with driving while impaired, according to a news release from the Wilmington Police Department.

Cory Lee Reese, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, was pronounced dead in the ambulance at 1:15 a.m., according to a news release from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Reese served with the 2nd Supply Battalion in the combat logistics regiment, the release said.
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Van crashes with soldiers back from Afghanistan, one dead, several injured

UPDATE
JBLM soldier killed in van crash was bringing home soldiers from Afghanistan
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
February 8, 2014

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier killed Thursday in an accident on Interstate 5 was a combat engineer who joined the Army a little more than a year ago and was helping to bring home comrades returning from Afghanistan.

Pvt. Reymon Tolentino, 28, died from injuries he suffered when the driver of a van carrying 10 soldiers from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Lewis-McChord lost control of the vehicle on the highway.

Tolentino was in the van to help retrieve soldiers in the 14th Engineer Battalion who were returning from a deployment to Afghanistan. He was part of his company’s rear detachment, meaning he did not deploy to the war.
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One Soldier Killed, Nine Injured In Lewis-McChord Van Crash

BY ALEXANDER SMITH

An American soldier died and nine others were injured after a van carrying troops recently back from Afghanistan crashed on its way to a military base in Washington, the base said Friday.

The U.S. Army personnel were being driven from SeaTac airport to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, south of Tacoma, Wa., when the van crashed at 4:30 p.m. Thursday (1:30 p.m. ET), base spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Sowers told NBC News.

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Camp Lejeune Marine's family can't find place for funeral

Feedback: Gouverneur Marine's Family Upset Over Funeral 'Nightmare'
WNYF
January 14, 2014

It's been one week since Marine Private First Class Skyler Way was found dead in a car submerged in canal near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Nearly a thousand miles away in Gouverneur, his family isn't only dealing with the loss, they couldn't find a place to hold the funeral.

"It's been a nightmare, stressful. Things have been tough. Things haven't really been going the way we expected it," said Shannon Way, Skyler's mother.

The family says Skyler wasn't religious and wouldn't have wanted his funeral to be in a church.

The family's first thought was to have the ceremony at the Elks Club.

But the club has a wedding booked this weekend.

That was just the first place to say no to the family.
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Two Camp Pendleton Marines found dead in submerged vehicle

Two Camp Pendleton Marines found dead in submerged vehicle

UPDATE: Troopers identify Camp Lejeune Marines found dead in submerged vehicle
WECT News
By: WECT Staff
Posted: Jan 08, 2014

CAMPE LEJEUNE, NC (WECT) - The Highway Patrol has identified the two Camp Lejeune Marines who were found dead inside a submerged vehicle, according to WITN.

WITN reports PFC Skyler Way, 19, from Gouverneur, New York, and Lance Corporal Nicholas Buscarnera of Mastic Beach, New York, were found Tuesday night in Craven County.

The two were found at 10:25 p.m. inside a vehicle submerged in a canal along Catfish Lake Road. WITN says the dirt road is a popular shortcut between Jacksonville and Havelock but is "off limits" to Marines because of safety concerns.
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Veterans are far more likely to die of suicide and in accidents

Veterans are far more likely to die of suicide and in accidents — a trend largely unstudied until recently.
LA Times
By Alan Zarembo
Photography by Rick Loomis
December 17, 2013

Mark Tyree Sr. visits his son's grave. "I grieve every day now," he said. "I don't want it to go away."

Mark Tyree was chasing death.

The 25-year-old Marine veteran drank heavily and drove fast — often at the same time. Tyree had walked away from two serious accidents that demolished his cars. advertisement

On a foggy November morning in 2011, he slammed his pickup truck into a power pole, became tangled in a power line and was electrocuted.

"He was so reckless at times," said his father, Mark Sr. "He had no fear whatsoever."

Tyree belonged to a generation of young veterans whose return to civilian life has been marked by an unusually high death rate, primarily boosted by accidents and suicides.

The death rate for California veterans under 35 surpasses that of both active-duty service members and other civilians of the same ages, according to a Times analysis of state mortality records.

Scattered across the state, the veterans' deaths — 1,253 men and 110 women between 2006 and 2011 — are barely noticed in the mayhem of modern life.

A 27-year-old in San Diego crashes his motorcycle at 100 mph while drunk. A 32-year-old hooked on heroin overdoses in a restaurant bathroom in Tarzana. A 28-year-old in Humboldt County shoots himself in the head in front of his best friend.

When viewed together, however, patterns emerge.

Veterans were more than twice as likely as other civilians to commit suicide. They were twice as likely to be a victim of a fatal motor vehicle crash and a quarter more likely to suffer other deadly accidents.

In 1987, a government study found that veterans who had served in Vietnam were 62% more likely to die during their first five years as civilians than other veterans of the same era who did not serve there. Motor vehicle accidents, suicides and drug overdoses were the major reasons for the disparity.
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Camp Lejeune Marine laid to rest after motorcycle crash

Lejeune Marine dies in motorcycle wreck
Daily News Staff
By MATTHEW ADKINS
Published: Thursday, November 14, 2013

A Camp Lejeune Marine was laid to rest this week after being killed in a weekend motorcycle wreck.

Mississippi native Sgt. Philip Stephen Shook was traveling east on Ramsey Road about 3 a.m. Saturday when he ran off the road and was thrown from his bike, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Shook was airlifted to New Hanover Regional Hospital, where he later died from injuries sustained during the crash. He leaves behind a son and fiancé.
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Army identifies Iraq veteran killed in JBLM traffic accident

Army identifies Iraq veteran killed in JBLM traffic accident
The News Tribune
By ADAM ASHTON — Staff writer
Published: November 8, 2013

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier killed in a traffic accident Wednesday night on base was a two-time veteran of combat tours in Iraq, the Army said today.

Sgt. Bradley Scott Melvin was assigned to the headquarters of the 593rd Special Troops Battalion of the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a unit charged with managing Army logistics.

Melvin served for the last four years at Lewis-McChord. In addition to his Iraq tours, Melvin also served abroad in Germany and in Kuwait.
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Big rig driver looking at pictures killed officer in Arizona

Report: Big-rig driver in crash was looking at phone pics
Associated Press
Thu Oct 31, 2013

TUCSON — A big-rig driver allegedly was looking at cellphone photos of women when he crashed into emergency vehicles on a Yuma County freeway. Authorities say the May 6 crash killed an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer.

The Arizona Daily Star says it obtained records of the crash from the DPS via a public records request.

Officer Tim Huffman was killed in his patrol vehicle when it was struck as he was writing a report at an Interstate 8 accident site.
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Police officer killed in car crash was also a Camp Lejeune Marine

Former Camp Lejeune Marine, police officer dies in Asheville crash
JD News
By Daily News staff
Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013

An Asheville police officer who died Tuesday after his cruiser plunged off a bridge was formerly a Camp Lejeune Marine.

Asheville Police Chief William Anderson said Officer Robert Bingaman died when his car ran off a bridge on Interstate 240 around 1 p.m. The car landed along Riverside Drive.

Leaving active duty on Jan. 1, 2000 as a sergeant, Bingaman was a mechanic stationed with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines aboard Camp Lejeune, according to Marine officials.

Bingaman was transported to Mission Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after, officials said.

There was no one else in the cruiser and no one else was hurt. Anderson said he did not believe any other vehicles were involved, but could not say whether Bingaman was in pursuit or responding to another accident at the time.
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Fort Hood soldier killed in training accident identified

Fort Hood officials ID soldier who died in accident
KDH News
Madison Lozano Herald staff writer
October 23, 2013

Staff Sgt. Leroy Jackson has been named by Fort Hood officials as the soldier who died following a military vehicle accident Friday at Fort Hood.

The death is currently under investigation with III Corps. It was a result of a training accident with a Humvee, and there were no other injuries, said Tyler Broadway, III Corps media relations specialist.

The last training exercise death at Fort Hood was Oct. 9, 2008 at the railhead, Broadway said.

Jackson, 46, of New Orleans, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division since 2005. He joined the Army as an infantryman in 1998.
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Laguna Beach officer and Iraq-Afghanistan War veteran dies in crash

Laguna Beach officer and Iraq-Afghanistan War veteran dies in crash
KPCC
September 22nd, 2013

Courtesy Laguna Beach Police Officers Association
Laguna Beach Police Officer Jon Coutchie, 42, was hit and killed Saturday night on the South Coast Highway.

Laguna Beach police are mourning the loss of a motor officer who died in the line of duty Saturday night.

Officer Jon Coutchie, 42, was hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of South Coast Highway and Cleo Street, the Laguna Beach Police Employee's Association said in a statement. He was attempting to locate a speeding car that had been spotted by another officer around 11:30 p.m.
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Vietnam veteran dead days after house fire killed son

Vietnam vet, 64, killed in car crash by veering into oncoming traffic just five days after his son, 29, died in house fire
John Hover veered into oncoming traffic on narrow rural road on Thursday
He was pronounced dead at same hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation just days earlier after blaze at his family home
Hover and his wife survived the blaze but their son, Devin, was killed
Both will be remembered at the same funeral service on Saturday
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
20 September 2013

A 64-year-old Marine Corps. veteran has died in a car crash - just five days after his 29-year-old son was killed in a fire at the house they shared.

John Hover, who fought in Vietnam, was driving on Route 43 in North Greenbush, New York on Thursday afternoon when his 2002 Ford truck veered into oncoming traffic for an unknown reason, police said.

He smashed into a 2006 Toyota driven by 66-year-old Jean Eldred, from West Sand Lake, and both became trapped in the wreckage and had to be cut out by firefighters.

They were rushed to Albany Medical Center Hospital and Hover was initially listed in critical condition.

Police announced his death on Friday morning.
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Iraq war vet who fought ‘Don’t Ask’ dies in car accident

Iraq war vet who fought ‘Don’t Ask’ dies in car accident
Washington Blade
By Chris Johnson
August 30, 2013

A gay veteran of the Iraq war who fought against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has died in a car accident in Rochester, N.Y., according to media reports and an LGBT advocate who worked with him.

Darren Manzella, who came out as gay in 2007 while serving in the Army during an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” died on Thursday, said Steve Ralls, the former spokesperson for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network who handled his public relations at the time. Ralls said he had just turned 36 on Aug. 8.

Ralls said openly gay troops currently serving around the world today are able to do so, in part, because of Darren’s sacrifice.
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Soldier Who Lost Family In Crash Busted For High Speed Motorcycle Chases

Soldier Who Lost Family In Crash Busted For High Speed Chases
WIBW.com
By: Lindsey Rogers
Jul 25, 2013

GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (WIBW) -- Nearly a year after losing his wife and children in a head-on collision, a Fort Riley soldier has been arrested in connection with several dangerous high speed motorcycle chases.

Bryan Alfred, 22, of Junction City, was the only member of his family who survived an accident last August in Marion County. He was arrested Wednesday, July 24, 2013 in connection with a series of pursuits by members of local and state law enforcement agencies in Geary County.

Alfred was taken into custody at the Fort Riley Provost Marshall’s Office on a Geary County District Court warrant charging him with Fleeing and Eluding While Engaging in Reckless Driving, and another count of Reckless Driving.

His wife, 20-year-old Amber Alfred, was killed in the crash along with the couple’s 2-year-old son, Josiah Alfred. Sources say Amber Alfred was also a Fort Riley soldier who worked as an x-ray technician at Irwin Army Community Hospital on post.

Another child, six-year-old Keith Johnson, who police also identified as the couple’s son (Bryan Alfred's stepson), was airlifted to Saint Francis Hospital in Wichita and was listed in critical condition in the days following the accident. He passed away from his injuries six days after the crash on August 16th, 2012.
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Lance Cpl. Levy Rivera remembered by Marines in Hawaii

MAG-24 mourns the loss of a Marine
By Lance Cpl. Janelle Y. Chapman
Marine Corps Base Hawaii
July 19, 2013

Marines, sailors and civilians of Marine Aircraft Group 24 and Marine Wing Support Detachment 24, along with family, attended a memorial service at the Chaplain Joseph W. Estabrook Chapel for Lance Cpl. Levy Rivera, July 11.

The 24-year-old native of Chicago was struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross Pali Highway and later died of his wounds. Rivera was the dispatcher for MWSD-24, MAG-24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Rivera joined the U.S. Marine Corps on Aug. 8, 2011. He attended the Motor Vehicle Operations Course in Fort Leonardwood, Mo. He was in the Marine Corps for less than two years.
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