A 21-year-old Marine died Tuesday from wounds following a tactical vehicle accident in northern Australia, according to Marine Corps officials.
Lance Cpl. Hans Sandoval-Pereyra was participating in an exercise Saturday at the Mount Bundey Training Area in Australia when the incident occurred.
Sandoval-Pereyra was treated at the scene before being air lifted to Royal Darwin Hospital, where he later died from his wounds, according to a command release.
He is the third Marine to be killed in a tactical vehicle accident in the past two months.
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One other Marine was injured in the accident and sustained minor injuries and has since been released from the hospital, according to the release.
“We are extremely grateful to our Australian partners for their valiant efforts to save this young Marine’s life,” Col. Russ Boyce, the commanding officer for the Marine Darwin rotation, said in the command release.
Sandoval-Pereyra, from Fairfax, Virginia, was an expeditionary airfield systems technician assigned to Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, according to Marine Corps. Previously he was assigned to Marine Wing Support Detachment 24, Marine Aircraft Group 24, out of Hawaii.
His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Marine Raider Staff Sgt. Joshua Braica was killed in an April MRZR accident aboard Camp Pendleton, California. In May 1st Lt. Hugh C. McDowell was killed in a light armored vehicle rollover on the same installation.
The Australia tactical vehicle accident is currently under investigation.
About 1,700 Marines are currently in Australia for several months of bilateral and multilateral training exercises with allies and Pacific partner nations.
“We are saddened by the loss of Lance Cpl. Sandoval-Pereyra. He was a beloved member of our community and our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends,” Boyce said in the release.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
