LAFAYETTE, IN — Justin Hurd wore his pride as a firefighter and an EMT every day, including Friday, the day he died in a motorcycle accident in southern Tippecanoe County.
“He wore his shirt with pride wherever he went,” Mellott Fire Chief Aaron Stonebraker said of his friend, who either wore his volunteer firefighter or EMT shirts every day.
The first responders who arrived at the crash scene at Indiana 28 and Tippecanoe County Road 400 East no doubt knew he was a brother first responder, Stonebraker said.
Hurd died shortly after 4 p.m. Friday after he and his motorcycle collided with a Tippecanoe School Corp. bus that turned eastbound onto Indiana 28 from Tippecanoe County Road 400 East, according to Indiana State Police. Hurd had the right-of-way.
The school bus was driven by Kenneth Finfrock, 71, of Romney. He was southbound on the county road, stopped the bus at the intersection, then turned eastbound onto Indiana 28 just as Hurd, 32, from Wingate, was riding his motorcycle westbound, according to state police.
He died at the scene, according to police.
The four Wainwright Middle School students on the bus were not injured, police said.
Hurd dedicated the last 14 years of his life to two volunteer fire departments: Mellott in eastern Fountain County and Coal Creek in western Montgomery County. He joined Mellott’s fire department as soon as he turned 18, before he graduated from Fountain Central High School, according to his obituary.
“He was always thinking about others,” Stonebraker said. “Always thinking about how to make the fire department better and (help) others.”
Hurd also was a EMT for Fountain County Emergency Medical Service.
As in many rural areas, fire departments in Fountain County struggle to recruit and keep volunteers, and that weighed on Hurd, Stonebraker said.
“Three days before he passed, we were talking about going to the schools,” Stonebraker said, recalling how Justin was brainstorming an idea of a school presentation to recruit students into the fire service.
News of Hurd’s death cast a pall over those beyond just his parents, girlfriend and children. Two fire departments and one EMS service all are grief-stricken by Hurd’s death.
“He was all of ours friend. Nobody had anything bad to say about him,” Stonebraker said.
Hurd served as Mellott’s fire chief for four years before Stonebraker.
“He was very quiet,” Stonebraker said, noting he was also funny.
At the fire department as personalities find a way to mingle and coexist, Hurd mostly was the listener until a mischievous grin would spread across his face and he’d crack a comment that left everyone laughing, Stonebraker said.
A few years ago, a former fire chief died, and the trucks escorted him to the cemetery.
“That’s the way I want to go,” Stonebraker said Hurd told him.
And so he will.
Stonebraker invites all first responders and tow truck drivers to participate in the funeral escort through Wingate, Mellott and to the cemetery in Hillsboro.
He also asks that people living in or near those communities pay their respects by lining the route of the funeral procession.
“We’re hoping to have as many people as possible along the route in Mellott,” Stonebraker said.
Hurd’s services start at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23, at Family and Friends Funeral Home of Wingate, according to his obituary.
“He was just a good friend. A brother,” Stonebraker said. “There will never be another Justin Hurd. Very, very special young man.”
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Biker killed Friday was a dedicated volunteer firefighter and EMT
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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