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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The two soldiers killed in a car crash last week near Landstuhl were young Army officers who had served in combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army has identified the soldiers as Capts. Brandon W. Fuhrman, 30, and Douglas J. Wercinski, 31.
The two were assigned to Headquarters Battery, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, as plans officers, the 10th AAMDC said in a statement.
The soldiers died at the scene of the crash on April 6 on the L363 between Landstuhl and Bann.
German police have yet to determine who was driving the BMW M3, which was found down an embankment in the forest below the road. The car was traveling an estimated 190 kilometers per hour (about 118 miles per hour) at the time of the crash, a Landstuhl police detective said Wednesday.
One of the men was thrown from the car when it crashed. A woman from Latvia who was a passenger in the car and had to be cut out of the vehicle by rescuers, remains hospitalized, the detective said.
Fuhrman was from Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Hempfield High School in 2004, according to an obituary posted Wednesday on Lancaster Online. He earned a degree in history from Dickinson College in Carlisle, which he attended on an ROTC scholarship. He received his commission in 2008.
Fuhrman deployed to Iraq in 2010 and to Afghanistan in 2013, according to the Army. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the NATO Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
He is survived by his wife and a 9-month-old daughter.
A fund has been set up to raise money in his name to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the obituary.
Wercinski was born in Texas and joined the Army in 2007, according to the Army. His previous assignments include Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Stewart, Georgia. He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2013. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and the NATO Medal.
The soldiers’ unit is tentatively planning a memorial service for April 22. Time and location have yet to be determined.
Marcus Kloeckner contributed to this report.
