Second soldier killed in H-1 crash identified

Advertiser Staff

The Army released the name of a Mississippi man yesterday who was one of four people killed in Friday's fiery crash on H-1 freeway.

Sgt. Shanta Bridges, 26, a native of McComb, Miss., was killed when a car he was riding in slammed into the back of a truck. Bridges was an infantryman assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment.

Two other soldiers were killed and one injured in the accident, according to the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks.

A family member in Mississippi said that Bridges' wife, Tanya, flew to Hawai'i early Saturday morning after learning about her husband's death.

The soldiers were in two Mitsubishi Eclipse cars that were speeding westbound on H-1 shortly after 3 a.m. Friday. Witnesses said the cars appeared to be racing. The cars rear-ended a Safety Systems Hawai'i flatbed truck, which was making its regular inspection of the section of the freeway that is used for the zipper lane.

The two cars and the truck burst into flames, killing Mariano Salangdron Sr., a passenger in the truck, and injuring Carl Koonce III, the truck's driver.

One of the dead soldiers was identified earlier as Spc. Jason J. Bordwell, 22, of Schenectady, N.Y. He was assigned as a computer analyst with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 125th Signal Battalion. He was in one of the two cars that hit the truck.

The name of the other soldier who was killed was withheld until the family could be notified.

The soldier who survived the accident, Spc. Carlos Molestina-Arteaga, 23, of Bloomfield, N.J., was also assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 125th Signal Battalion. No information on his condition was available.