Fort Bragg soldiers identified in fatal Harnett County crash

SANFORD, N.C. (WNCN) — The identities of three people killed in a crash in Harnett County this past weekend have been released, according to North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The three individuals died in a head-on crash between a Toyota Camry and a Chevy Z71 around 3:30 a.m. Saturday on NC Highway 87 near Broadway Road. Troopers said the three occupants in the Toyota Camry involved in that crash were stationed at Fort Bragg. The driver and one of the passengers — identified by State Highway Patrol as 22-year-old Romeo Mason Fleck from Harrisonburg, Pa. and 21-year-old Charles Jackson from Efland — were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and sole occupant of the pick-up truck, who also died in this crash, was identified by troopers as William Tyler Underwood, 28, of Sanford. A third passenger in the Camry, who troopers identified as Aydrian Larusch, remains in critical condition. The investigating trooper said that since Laursch was taken to Womack Army Medical Center on Saturday, he was airlifted to another medical facility due to the extent of his injuries. He remains in critical condition. Fort Bragg confirmed Fleck and Jackson had been part of the base since 2024. "Two paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division tragically lost their lives Saturday in a vehicle accident," said a spokesperson from Fort Bragg, who added that Spc. Fleck was an Infantryman and Spc. Jackson was a Combat Medic. The investigating trooper said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.