Soldier from Fort Bragg killed in Navy base crash in Key West
The U.S. Army has identified a soldier struck and killed by a vehicle driven by an on-duty Navy Security Force civilian Monday on a Key West Navy base.
Sgt. 1st Class Hector Delgado Ortiz, 35, was a logistics soldier assigned to the 2nd Special Warfare Training Group at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., the Army said.
He was on temporary duty assignment to the special forces underwater operations school in Key West.
Delgado Ortiz was on foot when he was struck by a vehicle at about 3:15 p.m. outside the Navy Exchange department school at Naval Air Station Key West’s Sigsbee Park Annex, the Navy said.
The driver was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and released Wednesday, said Trice Denny, spokeswoman for Naval Air Station Key West.
She did not identify the driver.
“No other details are available as the incident remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Key West Police Department,” Denny said.
Delgado Ortiz is survived by his wife, Nairilys, and two sons, Elijah and Joshua.
He had a long history of success in special operations forces, the Army said.
Delgado Ortiz “faithfully served the army and that nation for more than 17 years,” said Col. Joshe Raetz, commander of 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, in a news release from Fort Bragg.
Delgado Ortiz was respected throughout Fort Bragg and the special operations logistics community, Raetz said.
The crash investigation caused the Navy Exchange and Commissary on Sigsbee to temporarily close.
Both stores are open regular hours Thursday, Denny said.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
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