Governor Davis has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol in honor of an Army soldier from Lake Elsinore who was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq.

The Defense Department says 18-year-old Private First Class Daniel Parker died in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday after being thrown from his vehicle when the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

His heartbroken father, Billy Parker, told The Associated Press his son “was proud to be in the Army and proud to be serving his country.”

Parker was sent to the region in March with the 101st Army Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He served with the 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Parker is survived by three younger brothers and a younger sister.