A 40-year-old Active Guard Reserve Sergeant First Class assigned to the National Guard Bureau died in an automobile mishap in Lincoln County, Mississippi, at local. The Soldier’s vehicle was struck by another vehicle. The other driver, a Soldier on orders for drill weekend, sustained minor injuries. Additional information is currently unavailable.
Since FY21, the Army has lost an average of 36 Soldiers a year to automobile mishaps. This was the 19th off-duty automobile fatality of FY26 and above the number of fatalities for this same time last year.
Safety Tips
Defensive driving is the primary tool for mitigating risks at intersections, where nearly 36 percent of all traffic crashes occur. Your safety depends on anticipation, situational awareness, and scanning before and during your entry into the intersection.
- Scanning – Look left, right, then left again.
- Anticipation – Expect the unexpected. Never assume another driver will stop. Observe the speed and "body language" of approaching vehicles to see if they are actually slowing down.
- Right-of-Way – Don't insist on it. Having the legal right-of-way does not protect you from impact. If an approaching vehicle seems unlikely to stop, yield to preserve your life.
- Distractions – Intersections require 100 percent of your cognitive load. Lower the radio volume and put away devices to better hear and see cross-traffic.