Former Contractor Charged in Sailor’s Death

NEWPORT NEWS -- A former Army contractor from Newport News was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault after a vehicle collision in Kuwait left one Navy man dead and another seriously injured.

Morgan Hanks, 25, was arrested Tuesday on the federal indictment handed up in Newport News federal court.

According to a Justice Department news release, Hanks was employed as a canine handler in Kuwait in November 2009 when he was involved in a collision with another vehicle carrying Sailors Brian Patton and David Morgan. Patton was killed in the wreck, and Morgan suffered a severe brain injury. Their hometowns were not immediately available.

The release, quoting the indictment, says Hanks was speeding while trying to pass an eight-vehicle convoy on a two-lane road.

Hanks made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court, where a magistrate judge ordered him detained pending a bond hearing Friday.

At the time of the incident, Hanks was employed by the military contractor Combat Support Associates Ltd.