Officials deny reports that fatal accident
in Macedonia nearly provoked riot
Stars and Stripes
PETROVAC, Macedonia — Local media reports that a fatal road accident, involving
American KFOR troops, nearly provoked a riot are inaccurate, U.S. officials say.
On Tuesday at about 11 a.m., an unidentified U.S. soldier leading a seven-vehicle
convoy in a Humvee struck and killed a 72-year-old Macedonian woman.
The accident happened near the village of Kocani, about 70 miles east of Camp Able
Sentry, where the soldier was based with the 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment of the
101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky.
In local media reports, Macedonian officials said the convoy — on a
command-sponsored, rest-and-relaxation trip to Sofia, Bulgaria — was speeding.
There was never a hostile crowd, said Maj. Tim Quillen of the 3rd Batallion. And if
there was a crowd, he said, they were just onlookers.
The convoy — five buses with one Humvee leading, a second trailing — was on a
50-meter long straight section of an otherwise windy road, traveling about 20 mph when the
accident happened, Quillen said.
The driver noticed the woman standing on the left side of the road, Quillen said.
Glancing in his rearview mirror to check on the position of the convoy, the driver looked
up to see the woman dashing across the road, he said.
The driver swerved hard right, trying to avoid her, almost flipping the Humvee into a
gully. However, the vehicle struck the woman, knocking her about 10 feet into the middle
of the road, Quillen said.
"The skid marks were not even as long as the Humvee," he said. "That
tells you that he was not going any faster than 20 miles per hour."
Quillen added that two of the five bus drivers said the convoy was traveling about 20
miles per hour just before the accident.
American KFOR vehicles have speed limits of 45 mph. Roads in Macedonia and Kosovo
usually are lined with pedestrians, especially children, and local drivers observe few
rules.
Combat lifesavers, who always travel with the recreation convoys, treated the woman.
A Macedonian ambulance arrived on the scene, "but gave no assistance. Then they
drove off for whatever reason," Quillen said. "Our guys continued to give first
aid … but we suspect that she died on impact."
Agents from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command are investigating the
accident.
Quillen said that soldiers inspected the Humvee, and that the brakes were working
properly. Before each mission, soldiers perform what Quillen called a "pre-combat
inspection," a detailed maintenance inspection.
What happened was an unavoidable accident, Quillen said.
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