Flags are at half-staff in parts of the Hudson Valley following the death of a 21-year-old Dutchess County native and Air Force member.

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Royal Ciancanelli, 21, of Dutchess County was killed during an early morning crash in North Carolina. His motorcycle ran off the road and hit a guard rail around 2:49 a.m. on US-70 near La Grange in North Carolina, police say.

Ciancanelli was an active number of the U.S. Air Force was on active duty at the time of his fatal crash stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NBC reports.

He was a member of the Air Force's Civil Engineering Squadron known as the "Dirt Boyz", Royal worked as a heavy equipment operator maintaining the Air Force's runways, roadways and infrastructure, according to his obituary.

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He was born in Poughkeepsie in 1999 and graduated from Beacon High School in 2017. Before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force He spent the summer after graduation working at Mid-Hudson Sporting Clays in New Paltz.

He began basic training in San Antonio, TX followed by technical training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. He then served at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany and was transferred to Seymour Johnson in North Carolina where he had been stationed since December 2020.

On Monday, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro ordered flags on all County facility buildings to be lowered to half-staff following the death of Senior Airman Royal Charles Henry Ciancanelli.

"For my friend Roy and his family. Your son gave in service to a grateful people. His life ended too soon, yet his contribution to our nation will live on. May you find comfort in the company of family, friends and the memories you shared," Molinaro stated.

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