A 19-year-old Air Force ROTC cadet died Friday following a vehicle accident involving a Humvee during a training event in Idaho, officials said.
MacKenzie Wilson, a cadet from Oregon State University, was hurt in the accident around 12:30 p.m. at Saylor Creek Range, part of the Mountain Home Air Force Base range complex, according to a statement released by the base on Sunday. Two others were also injured in the accident.
Wilson was one of 19 Air Force ROTC cadets at the installation participating in Operation Air Force, described as “an immersive professional development training opportunity to expose cadets to a variety of different mission sets.”
Air Force personnel and cadets responded to the crash and initiated life-saving actions on Wilson until first responders arrived, the statement said.
Wilson, from Eagle River, Alaska, was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
The other two hurt individuals were transported to St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise and have since been released, the statement said.
“Today we lost a member of our Air Force family. We express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of all the individuals,” said Col. Ernesto DiVittorio, 366th Fighter Wing commander. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The participating cadets were offered “resiliency services” and the option to return to their respective “homes of residence” or stay at the installation following the accident, the base said.
ROTC stands for Reserve Office Training Corps, where schools — including Oregon State — offer programs that combine academic curriculum with instruction to prepare for commissioning and service in the Armed Forces.
Details surrounding Wilson’s death and accident are under investigation by Idaho State Police with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
