Testimony in Walker Court Martial - Why the Koreans are Angry

ArmyLINK News ^ | November 21, 2002 | Sgt. Russell C. Bassett

[John Valentine]

CAMP CASEY, South Korea (Army News Service, Nov. 21, 2002) -- The court-martial of the tracked vehicle driver charged with two counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of two Korean girls began today at Camp Casey. ...

The government then called its first witness. Staff Sgt. Michael A. Murray, also of he 44th Engineer Bn., and track commander of the vehicle immediately in front of Walker's in the convoy, said that he motioned to the AVLM to stop prior to the accident.

"I turned around and saw the AVLM make a beeline toward the girls," Murray told the courtroom.

In the defense's cross-examination Murray revealed that AVLMs make sharp-right turns after rounding a corner. Womack used this testimony to say that the oncoming convoy, was the reason for the sharp turn and why it looked like the AVLM made a "beeline."

Murray also said that the pedestrians he had encountered earlier in the day were all on the left side of the highway and off of the pavement. He also said that no one in the convoy sent a warning over the radio that there were pedestrians on the right side of the road.

The defense's next three witnesses were the driver, gunner, and commander of the Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle that passed Walker's AVLM in a convoy going the opposite direction. The witnesses told the court that they motioned for Nino to stop his vehicle 30 meters before the accident.

...

Sgt. Patrick Jones, the Bradley's gunner, said that he saw Jones and Nino talking back and forth right before the accident and that Nino "appeared to be smiling and laughing."

...

(Editor's note: Sgt. Russel C. Bassett is with Eighth Army Public Affairs in Korea.)

[John Valentine]

There was also testimony from a CID investigator that Captain Nino tried several times to get Sgt. Walker to stop, to no avail.

Koreans wonder about the not-guilty verdict in this ourt martial, but more than that they wonder how the US Army could have failed to have implemented adequate safety measures that could have prevented this accident.

For example, Staff Sgt. Murray testified that he had motioned to the Nino/Walker AVLM to stop. So why didn't the AVLM stop?

Well, why not? This is the unanswered question. At least it is one of them.

[Saturnalia]

This is slightly disturbing, seeing as I have seen the "leftovers" of the incident.
Still, waiting for the rest of the story to come out.

[Valin]

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[Int]

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