Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief
mxv5945@psu.edu

On Saturday, Oct. 22, a crash involving two military vehicles injured three soldiers and claimed the life of another. The crash occurred at Fort Indiantown Gap, a training area approximately 25 miles northeast of Harrisburg, the
state’s capitol. Mackenzie L. Shay, age 20, lost her life in the crash. Shay was a Army Petroleum Supply Specialist,
who was assigned to serve in the 28th Infantry Divison’s Company G. Shay grew up in New Castle, PA. The other three service members who were injured in the crash received treatment at Hershey Medical Center, all of whom have now been released. The crash has been cited as being under investigation, but no further details have currently been released to the public. The vehicles were scheduled to be out at the time on a regular routine supply mission.
Army Major General Mark Schindler stated, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Specialist Mackenzie Shay’s family, friends, and colleagues after this tragic accident. Our priority right now is taking care of the family and soldiers, ensuring they have all the resources they need during this critical time.”
On Monday, Oct. 17, Governor Tom Wolf ordered the U.S. and commonwealth flags to all be flown at half-staff.. All flags at commonwealth facilities as well as flags located on all public buildings and grounds in PA were lowered
to honor Shay. The flags are to remain this way until the date of her funeral, which has not yet been
announced. “It broke my heart to hear this,” stated David Bredl, Shay’s former high school cross-country and track
coach. Bredl said that Shay began talking about joining the military in her junior year of high school, and that Shay loved being a part of the National Guard.