A Georgia-based U.S. Army soldier was found guilty Monday of two charges, including negligent homicide, for her role in a June 2019 training accident that killed a West Point cadet.
At a general court-martial at Fort Stewart, a military panel convicted Staff Sgt. Ladonies Strong, 32, of negligent homicide and prevention of authorized seizure of property, base spokesman Kevin Larson said.
Strong was sentenced to three years of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. She was acquitted of several other charges, including reckless operation of a vehicle, dereliction of duty and involuntary manslaughter, which carries a 10-year sentence.
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Strong’s court-martial stemmed from an investigation into a training accident that killed Christopher J. Morgan and injured 21 others when Strong rolled a 5-ton light medium tactical vehicle, similar to an open-bed truck. Morgan, a 22-year-old from West Orange, New Jersey, was expected to graduate from West Point in 2020. A law and legal studies major, he was a standout on the academy’s wrestling team.
Two Army trainers and 19 cadets were among the others injured in the rollover accident.
Strong was tried at Fort Stewart because she is assigned to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division headquartered there. She offered no statement in her defense at an Article 32 hearing in October, which is similar to a civilian grand jury hearing.
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