Fairbanks police escort hearse carrying soldiers’ bodies to Fairbanks International for first leg of journey home
The Army’s Eleventh Airborne Division released the names of the two Fort Wainwright-based soldiers killed Monday when their truck wrecked in the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, south of Fairbanks.
An Eleventh Airborne news release issued Wednesday says Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans and Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden died of injuries sustained in the accident in the training area near Eielson Air Force Base.
On Wednesday, Fairbanks Police escorted a hearse carrying the bodies of the soldiers from the Chapel of Chimes Funeral Home to Fairbanks International Airport to begin their long journey home.
Evans and Snowden were assigned to the First Battalion of the Fifth Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Evans, who was 23, is from Knoxville, Tenn. He joined the Army in July 2020, trained at Fort Moore, Ga., and arrived in Alaska in January 2021. Snowden, who was 22, is from Lonedell, Mo. He joined the Army in July 2020, trained at Fort Moore, Ga., and arrived in Alaska in March 2021.
They were among 17 Fort Wainwright-based soldiers who were riding in a tactical transport truck when it wrecked Monday morning near the Johnson Road intersection with Military Pipeline Road. Twelve other soldiers in the truck also were injured. Eight were treated and released from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the other four remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday evening, two at Fairbanks Memorial and two at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
The Eleventh Airborne news release says the Army’s Combat Readiness Center is investigating the accident.
