Army identifies victim of motorcycle accident

FAIRBANKS (AP) -- The Army on Monday identified a Fort Wainwright soldier who died early Saturday morning shortly after a motorcycle crash.

Michael Smith, 32, a private first class from Lake Charles, La., was found by police officers at the edge of a culvert in south Fairbanks.

Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Tim Schoenberg said Smith was riding an unregistered off-road motorcycle on the road when he hit a guardrail.

Smith was rushed to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:49 a.m. Troopers said Smith was not wearing a helmet.

Smith, in the Army since February 2000, had been stationed at Fort Wainwright for more than a year.