1 Marine killed, 14 injured after vehicle rolls over during training

SAN DIEGO >> A U.S. Marine was killed and 14 others were taken to hospitals after an amphibious combat vehicle they were in rolled over during a training at a California base, north of San Diego, officials said Wednesday.

The rollover happened around 6 p.m. Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton during a ground movement training.

The U.S. Marine Corps said the others were taken to area hospitals for treatment and evaluation but did not specify the severity of their injuries.

The Marine who died won’t be identified until family is notified per military policy, and was assigned to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the military said.

The incident is under investigation, officials said.

The fatal rollover happened on land in an amphibious combat vehicle, a model that was introduced to replace Vietnam War-era amphibious assault vehicles after one sank off the Southern California coast in 2020, killing eight Marines and one sailor. It was one of the of Marine Corps’ deadliest training accidents of its kind.

A Marine Corps investigation found that inadequate training, shabby maintenance and poor judgment by leaders were to blame for the sinking.

Last year, the U.S. Marine Corps kept the new amphibious combat vehicles — a kind of seafaring tank — out of the water while it investigated why one of the vehicles rolled onto its side in large waves and the other one became disabled. No one was injured in that incident.

The Marines use amphibious vehicles to transport troops and their equipment from Navy ships to land. The armored vehicles outfitted with machine guns and grenade launchers look like tanks as they roll ashore for beach attacks, with Marines running out of them to take up positions.