Entrance at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2019 to the Doña Ana Training Complex. (Joselyn Sydnor/U.S. Army)

The soldier killed last week in a vehicle accident at Fort Bliss was a 24-year-old cavalry scout originally from Northern California, officials at the west Texas Army base said Monday.

The crash happened Friday morning at the Army installation in El Paso, during a “troop movement,” the 1st Armored Division said. Five other soldiers were injured.

The division identified the dead soldier as Sgt. Joel Sanchez of Vallejo, Calif. The division said he enlisted in the Army in 2016 and arrived at Fort Bliss four years ago. Vallejo is located about 25 miles northeast of downtown San Francisco.

Sgt. Joel Sanchez, 24, was killed July 21, 2023, in a vehicle accident at Fort Bliss, officials at the west Texas Army base said. (U.S. Army)

“[Sanchez] died in a non-combat related vehicle accident near the Fort Bliss training area,” according to the 1st Armored Division, which is based at Fort Bliss. “All injured soldiers were treated and are now released.”

Army officials said the crash happened at about 9:30 a.m. and involved a tactical vehicle. No other details about the accident have been revealed. The crash is under investigation, they said.

Sanchez was a cavalry scout assigned to the 1st Armored Division, a unit that’s nicknamed “Old Ironsides” and is part of the Army’s III Armored Corps. A cavalry scout performs various military tasks in the field, such as gathering information about enemy positions and activities, according to the Army’s website.