KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — An Army Reserve staff sergeant remains under investigation by the Romanian police and U.S. military after the pedestrian he struck with a rental van died Wednesday.
Craig Steven Fischer, 41, with the 313th Rear Operations Center, is said to be cooperating with Romanian authorities and is currently at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta, Romania.
Romanian Defense Ministry spokesman Daniel Anghel acknowledged that the matter is under investigation but offered no additional information Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 10 a.m. Monday while Fischer was driving the second van in a three-van convoy in support of exercise Combined Endeavor 2005, a military training program in Romania and Germany. Fisher was transporting seven passengers — five U.S. and two Romanian military officials — as part of the exercise, which concludes May 26.
The pedestrian, Virgil Brescan, 79, stepped into a crosswalk on Tomis Boulevard in Constanta and was struck by the van Fischer was driving, said Navy Lt. Penny Cockerell, a public affairs officer with the exercise.
“As I understand, the accident itself was almost unavoidable,” Cockerell said.
Following the accident, Fischer was among a group who flagged down an ambulance, followed it to a hospital and then went to the police station, Cockerell said.
Fischer submitted to a blood test and breathalyzer exam performed by Romanian authorities. The results showed he had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time, Cockerell said.
Initially, Brescan’s injuries were thought to be minor, but his condition worsened. Brescan, a retired Romanian military colonel, was pronounced dead Wednesday morning.
An autopsy performed Wednesday showed that Brescan suffered hemorrhaging and head, neck and internal injuries as a result of being hit, Cockerell said.
U.S. military officials with the exercise are discussing how to assist Brescan’s family. “We are going to do something,” Cockerell said. “Understandably, the gentleman’s family is upset, and we want to do this right.”
The Kaiserslautern-based 313th ROC is a subordinate unit of the 21st Theater Support Command. Until Monday’s accident, Fischer had not been in any accident as a trained military driver during his 15 years of active-duty and reserve service with the Army, Cockerell said.
“We offer our condolences to the family,” Cockerell said. “We’re sorry this happened. We do our best to be safe on the road. Sgt. Fisher is a skilled driver. It’s just an unfortunate accident that did turn tragic.”
As the Army begins the process of transformation, strategic outposts such as Constanta could become vital in its future mission. In October, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld toured a military facility near Constanta for possible use by U.S. troops.
