Spc. Charles T. Fairbairn,Wendell T. Cerio Obituary – According to the Army, two soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state lost their lives when their vehicle was struck by an alleged drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction on a local highway. The soldiers, Spc. Charles T. Fairbairn, 29, and Spc. Wendell T. Cerio, 22, tragically died in the early morning crash on Sunday.
The Washington State Patrol reported that a third soldier who was also in the car sustained injuries but has since been discharged from the hospital. JBLM spokesperson Matt Pargett expressed the organization’s sorrow in a statement, stating that Fairbairn served as an infantryman while Cerio was a combat medic. The incident is currently being investigated. Fairbairn was driving a Chrysler 300 west on Highway 12 near the military base when a Ford Edge SUV, driven by a wrong-way driver, collided with the sedan.
The 23-year-old SUV driver and a 19-year-old passenger were taken to the hospital with injuries, while a baby in the vehicle remained unharmed. The SUV driver has been arrested on two counts of DUI vehicular homicide, as confirmed by Washington State Patrol Trooper John Dattilo on the social media platform X.
