22-year-old soldier from Missouri among 2 dead in military vehicle crash, Army says
A 22-year-old man from Missouri was identified as one of two U.S. Army soldiers killed in a military transport vehicle crash in Alaska, officials say.
Fort Wainwright said the crash happened Monday, Oct. 2, in the Yukon Training Area. Seventeen soldiers were aboard the vehicle when when the driver lost control on a dirt road, causing the vehicle to flip, an Army spokesperson told the Associated Press.
Two soldiers were killed and 12 were injured, Alaska’s News Source reported. The soldiers were based out of Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and had been participating in training exercises, the outlet said.
Fort Wainwright identified the soldiers Wednesday as 22-year-old Brian Joshua Snowden, of Lonedell, Missouri, and 23-year-old Jeremy Daniel Evans, of Knoxville, Tennessee.
“This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in a statement shared on Facebook. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden. “While we’re always challenged by the environment, we’re Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these.”
Snowden joined the Army in July 2020 after completing training at Fort Moore in Georgia, the Army said. He came to Fort Wainwright in 2021.
The Grandview R-II School District in Missouri said Snowden was a 2020 graduate of Grandview High School.
“Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are extended to his family for their loss, as well as our thanks for his service,” the school district said.
Dona Sappington, Snowden’s older sister, said in a Facebook post she last saw her brother in January 2022.
“Before you left I told you that you had to come home because after mom dies it’s just the two of us,” Sappington said. “I knew something was off for days and I definitely didn’t feel right all day. I could never ever imagine that today would be the day you left us.”