Posted on 03/12/2004 12:03:58 PM PST by BykrBayb
Story Number: NNS040312-17 Release Date: 3/12/2004 2:40:00 PM
From Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- At least three Sailors were killed, 24 were treated at area hospitals, and 47 suffered minor injuries March 12, when the bus in which they were traveling collided with a truck on U.S. Route 17 about 20 miles north of Beaufort, S.C. Rescue efforts at the scene of the accident are on-going.
The Sailors were from the pre-commissioning unit (PCU)of the guided-missile destroyer PCU Pinckney (DDG 91). Names of those killed in the accident are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Families wishing to obtain information about their loved ones can call the Navy’s Emergency Coordination Center at 1-800-303-8976.
The accident is being investigated by local law enforcement agencies.
The ship was in port at Charleston, S.C. where a group of 200 Pinckney crew members were on their way to a wreath-laying ceremony at Beaufort National Cemetery in honor of the ship’s namesake, who is buried there.
The ship is named for Petty Officer 1st Class William Pinckney who received the Navy Cross during World War II for his courageous rescue of a fellow crew member aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV 6) during the Battle of Santa Cruz. After the war, Pinckney left the Navy for a 26-year career in the Merchant Marine. After retiring, he and his wife Henrietta returned to Beaufort, where he died July 21, 1976 at the age of 61.
Pinckney, the Navy’s newest guided-missile destroyer, was built at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations, in Pascagoula, Miss., and was making a port visit prior to heading for its homeport in San Diego. The ship will officially join the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet when it is commissioned May 29 at Port Hueneme, Calif.
For more news from around the fleet, visit the Navy NewsStand at www.news.navy.mil.
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