One of the seven U.S. sailors killed on the USS Fitzgerald after a collision with a container ship off the coast of Japan has been identified as Dakota Kyle Rigsby, a Fluvanna County volunteer firefighter.
The U.S. Navy said Sunday night that 19-year-old Rigsby, a gunner’s mate seaman from Palmyra, was among the dead. Lake Monticello Fire Department officials had confirmed Rigsby’s death on behalf of his family during a news conference at the firehouse Sunday evening.
Assistant Fire Chief Jean Campbell described Rigsby as a “good kid” and a dependable firefighter, calling the death “a tragic loss.”