Collapse of road blamed for deaths of 3 soldiers

The three soldiers who were killed in a rollover crash in Baghdad on Wednesday belonged to the same Fort Carson unit, the Department of Defense said Friday.

The men were identified as Staff Sgt. Christopher G. Smith, 28, of Grand Rapids, Mich.; Spc. Stephen M. Okray, 21, of St. Clair Shores, Mich.; and Spc. Stephen G. Zapasnik, 19, of Broken Arrow, Okla.

The three were riding in a convoy when a road collapsed and caused their humvee to roll into a ravine filled with 6 feet of water, Okray's mother said.

The others moved quickly to attempt a rescue.

"All the soldiers took off their gear (and jumped in) but they could not save any of them," said Mary Beth Okray of Grand Rapids.

Three other vehicles in their convoy had passed the same stretch of road without trouble, Okray was told.

The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The unit deployed in September, marking the first combat tour for Okray and Zapasnik.

Smith had served a previous tour in Iraq from March 2005 to February 2006.

Family members recalled Zapasnik as a "jokester" who nevertheless spoke proudly of his duty to the Army and God. He left high school a year early, shed 100 pounds and enlisted at age 17.

Smith's father is a pastor at the Evangelife Assembly of God Church near Bad Axe, Mich., The Grand Rapids Press reported. His mother, Donna Smith, is the secretary of the Thumb Blue Star Mother's chapter. They could not be reached.

Okray was known for his "wonderful heart and a capacity for giving and sharing," Mary Beth Okray said.

"He was fun, he was funny and had a wonderful, illuminating smile," she said.

News of his death came only two weeks after Okray had visited his family during a mid-tour leave. They spent "a wonderful week" at Pompano Beach, Fla., where he had vacationed as a child, his mother said.

He never wavered in his conviction that being in Iraq "was the right thing."

"He died doing what he loved, and not all of us can say that," she said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com