CFB VALCARTIER, Que. - Military police are trying to determine what caused a 10-tonne truck to flip over and kill a Quebec-based soldier helping troops get ready to deploy to Afghanistan.
Cpl. Christopher Deliva, 27, had been deployed from the base in Valcartier, Que., to work temporarily at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alta.
Deliva, a member of 5 Service Battalion of Canada, was helping return vehicles and equipment Monday after a month-long training exercise by troops heading to Afghanistan.
Lt.-Col. Nicolas Eldaoud said at a news conference Tuesday that Deliva was alone in the 10-tonne truck when the accident happened. The soldier was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The officer said he was not aware if the curve where Deliva's truck flipped is dangerous and said military police will survey the site to try and determine the cause of the accident.
"For a reason that we don't know yet, he could not take a curve and the vehicle got off the road,'' Eldaoud said.
Deliva, a native of Montreal, was single. He joined the Canadian Forces in 2000 and has lived in Quebec City since 2001.
The date for Deliva's military funeral has not been announced.
"Whether it is because of bullets in Afghanistan or a vehicle accident in Wainwright, Alta., a soldier who dies in service is a soldier who dies in service,'' said Eldaoud, who had just returned from Montreal where he met the soldier's family.
Deliva was not due to go to Afghanistan with other soldiers from his unit in August but his loss will be felt, said Adjutant Mona Labrie, one of his colleagues.
"It was felt,'' she said. "It is certain to have an impact. People will certainly think about it. But it's part of the risk when you put on a uniform.''
