June 20--One firefighter was killed and another badly injured in a traffic collision while they were on a response call in Lafayette County on Monday.
WDAF reports that Mayview firefighters Jeffrey Sanders, 55, and Jacob Hayward, 33, were responding to a call about a downed power line and a tree limb that was on fire when the incident happened.
According to a report by the Missouri Highway Patrol, a car driven by 38-year-old Jeffrey Vorwack was struck in the rear by driver Jerry Shier, 59, sending Vorwack's car crashing into the firefighters' unoccupied vehicle.
Sanders and Hayward were then struck and became caught underneath the fire vehicle, which traveled down an embankment. Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene, while Hayward was flown to Research Medical Center in Kansas City and remains in intensive care with serious injuries.
The town of Mayview, which is about 45 miles east of Kansas City, is a tight knit community of about 200, and local residents were in a somber mood Tuesday.
"It's very thick in the air," said resident Audrey Nelson, whose son is also a volunteer firefighter in Mayview. "You know the whole town has a different... I didn't even have to step out of my house this morning yet and I could tell the difference in the air. It's heavy. It's going to be rough but I think the town pulls together and tries to help the family the most that they can. I'm sure they will because that’s the way Mayview is."
Even when he wasn't volunteering as a firefighter, Nelson said Sanders was someone folks could count on and always stopped in to help a neighbor if he could.
Sanders' family declined to be interviewed, but residents say they're working to help his family through this difficult time.
