An Alaska-based soldier died this week from injuries he suffered in January when a pickup hauling logs hit him near Salcha, according to the Army.
Spc. Zachary Lane New, 21, was stepping out of a Humvee in a parking lot Jan. 29 when a three-quarter-ton GMC pickup pulling a trailer loaded with logs hit another Humvee, then struck New, according to Alaska State Troopers. New was a member of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Wainwright. He and his fellow soldiers had been traveling in a convoy and were taking a break in the parking lot at the time of the collision, the Army said. The convoy was parked at Mile 315 of the Richardson Highway, troopers said.
The pickup, driven by 20-year-old Tok resident Forrest Hermanns, also struck two Stryker vehicles. Troopers described the roadway as "extremely icy" and found no signs of drugs or alcohol involved in the wreck. Hermanns was not cited.
New, originally from Jarrell, Texas, had been receiving medical treatment in San Antonio, the Army said. He died Monday.
New joined the Army in June 2010, was assigned to Fort Wainwright and deployed to Afghanistan from April 2011 to April 2012, the Army said.
Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.
By CASEY GROVE