Accidents Outside Combat Take Toll on U.S. Military

Delk said the Humvee in which he and Smith were traveling was the communications vehicle for a long convoy ferrying troops and supplies between Kuwait and Iraq. The accident occurred at 10:30 p.m., and Smith had been at the wheel since 7 that morning, Delk said. He said that Smith declined when he offered to take over, but that it was not uncommon for Smith and others to drive 16 or more hours a day.

Because their radio didn't work, Delk said, he and Smith drove up and down the convoy to communicate with their commander on short-range walkie-talkies. He said they were racing along at about 60 mph in the emergency lane on the wrong side of an unlit road. "Over there," he said, "we drove on whatever side of the road we wanted."

The trailer "just came out of nowhere," Delk said. "The next thing I knew I heard us hit it and felt the back of the vehicle lift up and my head hit the back of the seat."

Smith, his face bleeding badly, was alive, but not for long, his companion said. Delk, who broke his leg and injured an arm, remains on active duty while recuperating in the U.S.

The Army accident investigation report, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, largely held Smith responsible. It noted he was traveling against the flow of traffic, with limited visibility, at speeds far exceeding the 45 mph he had been ordered to drive.

The report did not mention the radio, speedometer or seat belts being broken, as Delk told The Times. It said Smith had "been given the opportunity to sleep for eight hours" before driving, consistent with Marine regulations. And it noted that Smith was not wearing his seat belt and that neither he nor Delk had their helmets on as ordered, though it acknowledged that wearing one would not have prevented Smith's death.

Col. David G. Reist, commander of the Marines' Transportation Support Group in Iraq, said no problems were noted with the Humvee's equipment in a routine check before the trip.

"Our unit drove 1.3 million miles in the war," Reist said. "We had one death. This happened two miles from the end of them coming home. This just tore my heart out."

Aircraft Crashes Rise

The trend for aviation accidents has also been troubling, with fatalities increasing by nearly a third over the last two years. In the 2002 fiscal year, 57 aircraft were destroyed in accidents, more than doubling the total from the previous year.