Marine from Riverside identified as 1 of 2 service members killed in crash near US-Mexico border

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) — One of the marines killed in a crash near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, has been identified as a service member from the Inland Empire.

Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera, 22, of Riverside, and 28-year-old Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino of Fresno were killed when their vehicle crashed during “convoy movement” near the southern border on Tuesday, according to a U.S. Marine spokesperson.

Both Marines were combat engineers and based at Camp Pendleton.

Aguilera and Gamino were pronounced dead at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, while a third Marine remains hospitalized in critical condition.

The region where the accident took place is just over the state line and west of Fort Bliss, a major Army installation in West Texas that has played a critical role in dispatching military deportation flights and served as a touchpoint for thousands of soldiers and pieces of equipment now deployed along the border.

The troops are deployed there in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. More than 10,000 active duty service members have been authorized for the border mission.

A defense official speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details not yet made public said the accident occurred in a civilian vehicle, but no civilians were harmed in the incident.

The incident did not involve any of the scores of Stryker vehicles the Pentagon has sent down to the border to perform patrols, the official said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.