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Three people are dead, including an 8-year-old girl and the volunteer firefighter who tried to save her, after the girl’s mother intentionally drove their vehicle into a West Virginia river in what authorities have labeled a murder-suicide.
According to a news release from the West Virginia Fire Marshal, 42-year-old LaTonya Bell deliberately drove her car into a Braxton County river with her daughter, Havana Pipkins, on Sunday.
According to the fire marshal’s office, volunteer firefighter John D. Forbush, 24, was working less than 1 mile away when he heard the initial call to dispatch on his department-issued radio.
Upon arrival, Forbush immediately jumped into the river to save the victims trapped in the car. The rescue attempt was unsuccessful and Forbush, along with Bell and Havana, died at the scene, authorities said.
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“John D. Forbush selflessly gave his life for strangers in need,” the fire marshal’s office wrote. A four-year veteran volunteer firefighter with the Gassaway Fire Department, Forbush’s “service to the community will forever be remembered.”
According to aGoFundMe campaignlaunched to raise money for Forbush’s funeral costs, he leaves behind a fiancée and a 1-year-old daughter.
Funeral services for the fallen firefighter are scheduled for Tuesday.
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source: people.com
