21-year-old Marine killed during training exercise, officials say
A 21-year-old Marine was killed in a tactical vehicle accident during a training exercise in California on Sunday, officials said.
Pfc. Christian Bautista, of Cook County, Illinois, was riding in a M-1151 Enhanced Armament Carrier vehicle at the time of the accident at the U.S. Marines Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.
Two Marines from Bautista's vehicle conducted lifesaving measures before paramedics arrived. But the young man was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday at around 7:15 a.m. local time, according to a recent press release from the 1st Marine Logistics Group, which did not provide further details on the training exercise or what caused the fatal accident.
The incident is under investigation.
"Our primary concern is for the Marine we've lost, his family, friends, and fellow Marines and sailors," Brig. Gen. Roberta L. Shea, commanding general of 1st Marine Logistics Group, said in a statement Tuesday. "We have them in our prayers and will exhaust all resources to aid them during this difficult time."
Bautista was a motor vehicle operator serving as a vehicle turret gunner assigned to 1st Transportation Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Bautista enlisted in the Marine Corps in September 2018. After graduating from Motor Transportation School at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, he was assigned to 1st Transportation Support Battalion at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California in May 2019. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terror Service Medal, according to the press release from the 1st Marine Logistics Group.
