FORT SMITH, Ark. — A prosecutor says an autopsy shows that an Arkansas National Guard member died due to overheating after a training exercise at Fort Chaffee.
Thirty two-year-old Sgt. Sylvester B. Cline of Pine Bluff died June 14 at a Fort Smith hospital. Cline was assigned to Company A, 39th Brigade Support Battalion of the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Sgt. Sylvester Cline
Photo Credit: Arkansas National Guard Facebook page
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Cline sought medical attention after manning a machine gun in temperatures that reached 104 degrees with the heat index.
Sebastian County prosecutor Daniel Shue says an autopsy shows Cline died from “environmental hyperthermia.” Shue says there’s no evidence that suggests any criminal responsibility for Cline’s death.
Shue noted that five other Guard members required treatment that day because of the heat.
