HAMLET, N.C. — The Charlotte Fire Department is mourning the loss of one of their own after a firefighter was killed in a car crash in Richmond County.
The crash happened Monday near Hamlet, North Carolina.
Officials said Charlotte firefighter Patric Saunders died in the collision. He was off-duty at the time.
Saunders joined the Charlotte Fire Department in October of 2015 and was currently assigned to Fire Station 21.
According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Saunders, 31, was killed when his vehicle collided head-on with a tractor-trailer on Highway 74 around 6:15 a.m.
Authorities have not said what led to the collision but troopers said Saunders’ SUV was traveling the wrong way in the eastbound lanes when it collided head-on with the tractor-trailer.
The driver of the big-rig was treated on the scene but was OK, according to investigators.
“The fire service mourns the loss of a devoted and beloved member,” CFD said in a release. “Please keep the family, friends, and department members in your thoughts and prayers.”
Channel 9 learned that Saunders had worked with the Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department for about 15 years, joining when he was still in high school.
Channel 9 also learned that Saunders was a medical officer in the military and had recently returned from a 13-month deployment in the Middle East.
Tom Brewer, president of the local firefighters association, spoke to Channel 9 about Saunders.
“Your heart goes out to his family, to his wife, to the brothers and sisters that were with Patric in recruit school, that were assigned with him at the fire stations,” he said. “The feeling about Patric is kind of universal -- he had a servant’s heart.”
No other information has been released.
Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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