Deadly West Point accident rare but not unprecedented

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is investigating a deadly rollover during a training exercise that killed one cadet and left 21 others injured.

It isn't the first time that members of the military have been killed during training exercises. Back in June 2016 at Texas' Fort Hood, nine soldiers died after their vehicle flipped in a flood stream. In 2009, 13 were injured after their truck overturned at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Now, investigators want to know exactly how a tactical vehicle packed with cadets overturned in the woods near the Academy early Thursday morning. The cadets were at West Point as part of a summer training program. The accident unfolded the same day the country paused to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

West Point's superintendent, Darryl Williams, called it a tragic day for the community, but said accidents like these are rare.

"We don't know the details of how the accident actually happened," he said. "They were headed to land navigation training when they were in the back of the truck."

The light medium tactical vehicle had a soft canvas top and weighed more than 11,000 pounds. Twenty cadets, all rising seniors in the class of 2020, were seated in the cargo bed of the truck driven by two soldiers. They were said to be driving in rough terrain.

"You can see by looking around it is very hilly," Williams said, adding "we want to make sure our soldiers and cadets train in realistic training environment, so this is part of our realistic training."

One cadet was killed. The 19 other cadets, as well as the two soldiers, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Williams said the West Point community is mourning, but would respond with strength.

"I mean, this is the United States Army, we are strong," he said. "We are strong here at West Point."