Academy gymnastics coach killed in car crash

[unhappycamper]

Academy gymnastics coach killed in car crash
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Dec 30, 2008 18:09:28 EST

An Air Force captain who had earned a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq and helped coach the Air Force Academy gymnastic team died in a Dec. 27 traffic accident in San Antonio.

Capt. Levi Torkelson, 29, was a passenger in a Volkswagen Rabbit that struck a tree while trying to pass a car at night, according to a police report. He died at the scene. The car’s driver, Torkelson’s brother, Cory, and another passenger were both hospitalized.

Torkelson graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2001 after lettering four years as a gymnast, according to the academy’s athletic department. He was a two-time champion on the parallel bars at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship.

The captain’s primary mission was as a communications officer. He served four years at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he was squadron company grade officer of the year.

Deployments took Torkelson to Pakistan for four months, where he served as an executive officer, and one year in Iraq with the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center.


Article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/12/airforce_torkelson_carcrash_123008w/%2e