Terrible end for New York firefighter during birthday vacation: tree branch fell on his car in North Carolina

Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma / Courtesy

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FDNY firefighter Casey Skudin was bid farewell at a funeral in New York after being tragically killed when a tree branch fell on the vehicle he was driving while on vacation in North Carolina, two days before his birthday.

The funeral ceremony was held yesterday in Oceanside, Long Island. The branch fell onto a road last Friday at the entrance to the Biltmore Estate in the middle of strong winds and hit the SUV that Skudin was driving, spokeswoman Marissa Jamison said, in an email to ABC News.

Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services and Asheville Firefighters responded with the help of crews from the Biltmore Estate. Three adults and a child were in the vehicle, but only Skudin’s injuries proved fatal. Jamison said.

An investigation is underway. Asheville Fire Department spokeswoman Kelley Klope said the driver Skudin died before firefighters arrived, the local newspaper reported. Citizen Times.

Skudin would have turned 46 on Sunday the 19th, Father’s Day, two days after the fatal accident, New York Fire Department spokesman Jim Long told the newspaper. He had 16 years of service and worked in the Rockaway area of ​​Queens with Ladder 137, Long said. He was married and had two children.

He was also a rescue surfer and lifeguard and received the Fire Chiefs Association Commemorative Medal in 2010 for his bravery by diving into the frozen ocean during a storm the year before to help rescue a surfer trapped underwater on his surfboard leash, Long said.

Biltmore Estate is 8,000 acres in area and offers tours of the largest private residence in the country, Biltmore House, It was built in 1895 and attracts around 1.4 million visitors a year.

FDNY has suffered several losses this semester. At the end of May, Four retired firefighters died in a fatal coincidence from post-9/11 illnesses. Previously, in February, Robert Cruz, FDNY lieutenant, died unexpectedly at his home in Queens at 44 years old. One week before, Jesse Gerhard (33) died in hospital after fighting a fire residence in that same county.