KILLEEN (November 19, 2012)—Killeen police have released the identity of a Fort Hood soldier who died Friday night after he was hit by a car.
Juan Mendoza Vargas, 38, died at about 11 p.m. after he was struck while crossing S. Fort Hood St.
Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith said the Vargas was walking just after 11 p.m. Friday in the 4000 block of South Fort Hood Street when he stepped into the path of a 2000 Ford Mustang.
Smith said the Mustang, driven by a 20-year-old man, was southbound on the roadway.
Witnesses at the scene said the 38-year-old soldier was crossing the roadway from east to west when he was struck.
Bell County Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
Smith did not say if Potvin ordered an autopsy.
Vargas joined the Army in August 2006 and had been assigned to Fort Hood’s Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, Phantom Command, III Corps, since September 2012.
He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2008 to February 2009 and from April 2010 to April 2011.
