New information has revealed that a Canadian soldier died in Afghanistan because the driver of his military vehicle swerved to avoid an approaching car that wasn't using headlights.

After the light armoured vehicle swerved, the driver lost control of the vehicle which went off the highway and rolled over.

"It was purely and simply an accident to avoid a head-on collision," Craig Oliver, CTV's Chief Political Correspondent, reported.

Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, 24, died in the accident. Four others were injured.

The highway Pte. Woodfield was travelling on connects Kabul with Kandahar and is one of the only modern roads in the country.
 
In war zones it is not uncommon for civilians to travel at night without using vehicle headlights, said Oliver.

He reiterated that no explosives were involved and the accident was not the result of an attack.

Earlier, the safety of the military vehicle, known as a LAV-III, was called into question after a media report claimed the army had been warned that "speed and driver inexperience" were frequent causes of rollovers.

There have been 10 rollover accidents in the six years the vehicle had been in use.

A 24-year-old Quebec soldier, Pte. Patrick Dessureault, died earlier this year when a LAV-III rolled over into a river during a training exercise in Alberta.

And last year, two Canadians were injured when their LAV rolled into a ravine in Bosnia.

However, Scott Taylor, of Esprit de Corps magazine, told CTV's Canada AM that he did not believe "the vehicle was to blame whatsoever" in the latest incident.

"This is one of the best pieces of kit that they've got in the Army," he said Friday.

A proud soldier

Pte. Woodfield, from Eastern Passage, N.S., had been serving in Afghanistan since August. He was supposed to return home just before Christmas.

The private's father, Dan Woodfield, described his son as shy, funny, and so very proud to serve his country.

"On his shoulder he had tattooed a large red maple leaf  -- made in Canada," he told CTV News from his home in Cow Bay, N.S.

He said his son Braun, who shipped out from Gagetown just a few months ago, wanted desperately to help the people of Afghanistan.

"I have comfort knowing he did what he was wanting to do."

On Sunday, the defence department will bring Woodfield's remains home to full military honours an airforce base in Trenton, Ont.

The four other Canadian soldiers involved in the accident were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries. They were identified as:

• Sgt. Tony Nelson McIver, 31, of Fredericton, N.B.
• Cpl. James Edward McDonald, 32, of Pembroke, Ont.
• Cpl. Shane Dean Jones, 30, of White Rock, B.C.
• Pte. Paul Schavo, 24, of London, Ont.

Colonel Steve Noonan, commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan, told CTV that McIver and McDonald had both been released from hospital.

"Corporal Jones and Private Schavo are certainly stable and they will be moving up to Bagram Air Force Base for a scan as both received head injuries," he added.

All the soldiers were from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based out of Gagetown, N.B.

Pte. Woodfield is the eighth Canadian to die in Afghanistan since Canada first sent soldiers into Afghanistan in 2002. Four died by friendly fire, two by anti-tank mines and one at the hand of a suicide bomber.

Woodfield and the other injured soldiers were all members of G Company from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR), stationed in Gagetown, N.B.

They were serving with Task Force Kabul, which recently moved to Kandahar as part of the consolidation of Canadian operations in Afghanistan.

Ottawa is in the process of shifting its military presence from the capital Kabul to the more volatile southern region of Kandahar.

By February 2006, about 2,000 Canadian soldiers will be based in Kandahar and a Canadian general will take command of a multi-national force to fight insurgents.