Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Another Betrayal

HHC Operations Area
15th Forward Support Battalion
Fort Hood, Texas
CONUS
17 March, 1992
1300 Hours - Tuesday

Colonel Krait opened a folder and pulled out large color photographs, sliding them to the middle of the table. He looked at the County Sheriff and nodded.

"Would you walk us through what happened, as you were able to reconstruct it?" He asked the lanky cop.

The Sheriff stood up, moving over to the drawing board set up on an easel. He flipped over the first blank sheet to reveal a drawing of the highway that ran from Killeen to Copperass Cove, passing Fort Hood.

"The weather was rainy, which meant the asphalt was wet," He stated. "This driver, on a Kawasaki motorcycle, was doing approximately eighty-miles-per-hour when he misjudged the distance and cut in front of this vehicle."

He walked us through. The motorcycle got pulled under the car, which flipped. The following cars tried to stop, but hit each other, and two others had rolled. The cop in the middle had hit a truck, spun around, then rolled.

Stillwater's car had caught the guard rail, almost made it onto the shoulder, but flipped end over end and rolled at the same time.

Counting Stillwater, there were eight cars, two trucks, and a motorcycle involved in the wreck that occurred at fifty-five miles an hour on a wet road.

The Sheriff flipped the page, showing large photos of the wrecks.

"The Bell County Sheriff's Department has made these photos available, despite the fact this is an ongoing investigation, in order to work with military authorities," He said.

The cars were trashed. Doors were pulled open, ripped off the vehicles in some case. In all cases, the windowframes had been bent down. Lots of the doors had blood smeared on them that the rain had only partially washed away.

"What was used to open the doors?" Captain Jane asked at one point, when the Sheriff was detailing that the two people in the car were killed on impact, but still removed from the vehicle and basic first aid and resuscitation had been attempted.

"According to the two witnesses who were conscious, Sergeant Stillwater used his bare hands," The Sheriff said. He tapped the door that was bent and torn open. "He first removed all the batteries, then began extricating the occupants of the cars with his bare hands."

"Jesus," Captain Hiddle said softly.

"There were twenty-two people involved in the wreck, counting the children," The Sheriff said, "Ten were injured and required immediate care, eight were dead on impact or died of their wounds shortly afterwards, three were saved only due to the first aid that Sergeant Stillwater provided, and one victim, a four month old infant, was entirely unharmed."

"And removed from the scene," The Killeen cop said. "My office is investigating that as part of routine investigation."

"Private Peel, you were the first to see him, correct?" Colonel Krait asked.

Peel stood up at my nudge. "Yes, sir. I was on Charge of Quarters duty when Sergeant Stillwater approached me, handed me the infant, and instructed me to care for her."

Colonel Krait steepled his fingers. "How would you describe what happened when he arrived?"

Peel nodded slowly. "He was agitated but slightly confused. He called me Stewart. He was crying but it didn't seem like he knew it. He seemed almost dazed and had to ask me where his room was. He entered his room, I heard him yell something, heard something break in his room, then he exited his room drinking out of a bottle of alcohol."