BIG FLATS, N.Y. -- "I have nightmares about it. It was somebody I know," said Fred Buck.
Buck, a former West Hill firefighter shares his thoughts on the loss of Ryan T. Barker, a West Hill volunteer firefighter killed when his vehicle crashed into a tree Tuesday.
Buck lives across the street from the accident and says he recognized Barker's vehicle before it happened.
"I saw an old truck go up the road. Then 30 minutes later I saw him come down the road like a bat out of hell," Buck said.
Barker drove down the road after responding to a report of a gas grill fire. Then he crashed into a tree less than two miles from the West Hill Fire station.
"I heard a thump when he hit that tree. I knew the man had to be hurt bad or dead, one of the two, as hard as that truck hit,” said Buck.
A West Hill firefighter is dead after an accident in Big Flats. Ryan Barker, 25, was driving an emergency vehicle on West Hill Road Tuesday night when it happened. Our Mariah Sparks reports.
The impact threw Barker, 25, from his vehicle. The Chemung County Sheriff's office could not say whether speed was a factor in the crash along the sharp, curvy road.
"The investigation and cause of the accident is continuing at this time, and sheriff's office personnel are in the process of reconstructing the accident scene," said Sheriff Chris Moss.
Wednesday the flag at West Hill fire department flew at half staff as friends gathered at the fire house to remember their friend and colleague.
Barker served Chemung and Steuben Counties as a firefighter for eight years.