WEST POINT, N.Y. - A staff sergeant is facing charges in a rollover accident that killed a U.S. Military Academy cadet during training exercises this summer, Army officials confirmed Thursday.
Staff Sgt. Ladonies P. Strong was charged Sept. 13 with multiple violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide and reckless operation of a vehicle. The sergeant, assigned to Fort Benning in Georgia, also was charged with prevention of authorized seizure of property and two specifications of dereliction of duty, according to a release from the Army.
Cadet Christopher J. Morgan, 22, of West Orange, New Jersey, died after a tactical vehicle carrying cadets overturned in wooded terrain at West Point on June 6.
Nineteen cadets and two soldiers operating the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident remains under investigation.
Strong is awaiting a preliminary hearing next month at Fort Benning. A decision on whether to refer the charges to a court-martial will be made after the hearing.
Army officials did not provide information on whether she had a lawyer.
Morgan was a law and legal studies major in the Class of 2020. He was a recruited athlete and a standout member of the Army wrestling team.
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1 cadet dead, many injured after training rollover accident at West Point
A vehicle loaded with West Point cadets on summer training overturned in rough, wooded terrain, killing one cadet and injuring several others, the U.S. Military Academy said.