KILLEEN, Texas (AP) — The Army has released the identity of a Fort Hood soldier killed while directing traffic at a vehicle accident scene.
Spc. Cole Jakob Aton, 22, of Science Hill, Kentucky, had been a Patriot missile operator with the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade since August 2018, according to a Fort Hood statement issued Tuesday.
Aton had stopped the night of Aug. 12 at a minor traffic accident scene on Interstate 14 in Killeen, near Fort Hood, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The soldier was standing in the roadway trying to direct traffic around the scene when he was hit by a car that had just crested an overpass and whose driver didn’t see him in time, DPS Sgt. Bryan Washko said in an email. No charges were filed.
Col. Ethan Hall, commander of the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, offered Aton’s family his condolences and paid tribute to the soldier.
“His selfless service and care for others are in keeping with the highest traditions of the ‘Lightning Brigade’ and our Army,” he said in a statement.
