A teenager who was honored as a military child of the year died in a traffic accident in Missouri.
The Kansas City Star(http://bit.ly/24ajV0h ) reports that 17-year-old Zachary Parsons of Warrensburg died Monday near Knob Noster. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says his Jeep ran off the right side of the road and struck a culvert. The SUV became airborne and overturned.
He apparently had been was headed home from a program for high schoolers interested in a career in the medical field.
Last year, Parsons was named Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year for the National Guard. The national organization provides emergency financial assistance to military families. Each year, the group recognizes an outstanding military child from each branch of the service.
Zachary was the son of Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason Parsons and his wife, Debbie.
He helped his mother operate their 80-acre cattle farm in Warrensburg while his father was deployed in Afghanistan in 2013, Military Times reported last year. Despite his extra responsibilities, even after his father returned home with an injury, Zachary maintained a 3.85 grade point average.
