
NEW ORLEANS — A soldier from eastern New Orleans was killed in Iraq when the vehicle he shared with two other soldiers rolled into a canal, military officials said.
Sgt. Rene Knox Jr., 22, of New Orleans died along with Sgt. Chad W. Lake, 26, of Ocala, Fla., and Spc. Dakotah Gooding, 21, of Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Department of Defense.
The accident occurred early Sunday.
Knox was a graduate of Alfred Lawless High School, said Sheila Cordier, a cousin of Knox’s father.
Knox’s parents were unavailable Tuesday night.
Rene Knox Sr. had also served in Iraq, Cordier said.
Cordier said her cousin was taking the news hard.
“That was his oldest son, and he himself just returned from serving in the Army in Iraq last year,” she said.
Knox was the second of five children of Rene Knox Sr. and his wife, Eliria Knox, she...