A Marine from the 1st Transportation Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, died in a Humvee accident at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California, the Corps said Tuesday.
Pfc. Christian Bautista, a 21-year-old from Cook County, Illinois, was manning the turret on the enhanced armament carrier version of the Humvee at roughly 7:15 a.m. Sunday when the accident occurred, according to a Marine press release.
The 1st Transportation Support Battalion, based in Camp Pendleton, California, was at the Mountain Warfare Training Center to conduct logistics support training in a mountainous environment, the release said.
Two Marines from the vehicle conducted first aid on Bautista, but when paramedics arrived on the scene they pronounced the Marine dead.
The armored Humvee variant that Bautista was in can carry up to four Marines and has a rooftop turret that allows a crew-served weapon to be operated and provide security for the vehicle.
“Our primary concern is for the Marine we’ve lost, his family, friends, and fellow Marines and sailors,” said Brig. Gen. Roberta Shea, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group, in the press release.
“We have them in our prayers and will exhaust all resources to aid them during this difficult time."
The incident happened on the same day that three soldiers were killed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, when their Bradley Fighting Vehicle rolled off a bridge.
The Corps is no stranger to training deaths and injuries coming from vehicle accidents.
In August, 30 Marines went to the hospital when two 7-tons crashed during training. And, between April and May the Corps had three deadly vehicle training accidents.
Despite the number of incidents that happened in 2019, the Marine Corps Times previously reported that noncombat-related tactical military vehicle accidents and rollovers are at a ten year low and appear to still be on a slight decline.
Bautista enlisted in the Marine Corps September 2018. The Marine graduated from Motor Transportation School and was sent to his unit in May.
The young Marine’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terror Service Medal.
The Orange County Register first reported Bautista’s death.
