Driver sentenced in 2017 crash that killed firefighter responding to call

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A man is heading to prison for a 2017 crash that killed a local firefighter who was responding to an emergency call on a Burke County highway.

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Twenty months after the deadly crash, firefighters at Triple Community Fire Department still have the gear Jason Hensley wore the night of the crash stored in his locker at the station.

In October 2017, Hensley and his fellow firefighters responded to a downed tree call along Highway 70.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol said while working to clear the road, Randall Stewart struck and killed Hensley with his pickup truck.

(Jason Hensley)

At the time, troopers said they could smell the odor of marijuana. Stewart later told Channel 9 that he smoked prior to the accident.

In court Tuesday, firefighters and family members sat feet away from Stewart, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Stewart was sentenced to 28 months in prison.

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“I think he deserved to rot in jail," said fellow firefighter Farrell Duplain. "I wish they’d put a needle in his arm, but that’s my own personal opinion.”

Stewart’s attorney called Hensley a hero, but also told the judge an emergency room doctor did not think that Stewart was impaired that night.

“I don’t think there would ever be enough punishment for the victim’s families," said Duplain. "This kind of stings a little bit.”

Firefighters said their hope now is that other drivers learn from what happened so they don’t get hurt.

“More and more departments are actually taking old trucks and taking the water out of them and filling them with sand and just have blocker trucks for a barrier for firefighters,” said Duplain.

Stewart was given the maximum sentence under the law for involuntary manslaughter.

Cox Media Group