A US Army sergeant was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the vehicle rollover that killed a 22-year-old West Point cadet and injured 21 others in June, authorities said Wednesday.
Staff Sgt. Ladonies P. Strong was driving the 2.5-ton tactical transport truck that veered off Route 293 on June 6 and rolled 15-20 feet down a steep embankment before landing on a rocky area, said 3rd Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Patrick Husted, Army Times reported.
Christopher “CJ” Morgan, of West Orange, New Jersey — a cadet in the prestigious New York military academy’s class of 2020 — was killed in the crash.
Two soldiers and 19 other cadets were injured.
Strong was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, prevention of authorized seizure of property, reckless operation of a vehicle and dereliction of duty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, said 3rd Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Patrick Husted.
She is assigned to Task Force 1-28 from Fort Benning, Georgia, where she is currently waiting for a preliminary hearing scheduled for mid-October.
During that Article 32 hearing, command staff will decide whether the charges will be referred to a court-martial, Husted said.
The crash remains under investigation, and officials would not provide further details about why Strong was charged.