Fatal Mason County crash kills 2 sailors assigned to aircraft carrier USS Nimitz
Two Navy sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz died in an automobile accident on Aug. 12, the Navy confirmed.
Travis Strickland, 24, and Joshua Jutte, 22, died in a single-car collision that happened at approximately 2 a.m. that day, according to Mason County Coroner Jaime Taylor, who confirmed the identity of the two men to Kitsap Sun and said that the cause of death was blunt force injuries.
The Navy confirmed the two sailors' ranks and rates on Tuesday and said that next-of-kin was notified. Strickland was an Aviation Ordnance Airman 3rd Class Petty Officer and Jutte was an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Petty Officer, according to USS Nimitz spokesperson Lt. Ben Bushong.
The vehicle rolled over on East Trails Road and near Mason Lake Drive West in Mason County, said Lt. Trevor Severance of the Mason County Sheriff's Office. It is unknown how the vehicle flipped upside down and how the collision occurred, Severance said on Tuesday.
The accident happened one day before the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group left Bremerton on Aug. 13 to begin its sustainment exercise (SUSTEX) in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations. The integrated exercise is designed to ensure the strike group is ready to meet all mission sets and carry out sustained combat operations from the sea, according to Bushong.
During SUSTEX, the strike group will execute flight operations with Carrier Air Wing 17’s aircraft and undergo integrated training evolutions, the Navy said.
Grief counseling and support services have been extended to the crew as the ship prepared for an underway period, Bushong said in an email to Kitsap Sun on Aug. 15.
The Navy could not confirm if the two sailors were supposed to go underway with the ship on the exercise.
"The leadership of USS Nimitz and the crew offer condolences to the family of these Sailors, who we will proudly remember as members of our Nimitz family during their time in service," Bushong said.
In July, the Bremerton-based aircraft carrier returned to its homeport after seven months of global deployment in the Indo-Pacific area.
The story was updated since it was first published to add the two sailors' ranks and rates.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: 2 USS Nimitz aircraft carrier sailors dead after auto crash
