A 22-year veteran Arlington firefighter was killed Thursday morning in a four-vehicle crash in Crowley while on his way to work.
Richard "Rick" Hosford Jr., 54, of Glen Rose died at the scene after the 6 a.m. wreck in the 1200 block of South Crowley Road, Crowley police Capt. T.J. Simms said. A woman from another vehicle was hospitalized, he said.
Circumstances behind the wreck were not released by the Crowley Police Department on Thursday. Simms said the accident remains under investigation.
Hosford graduated from Carter High School in Dallas, then earned a degree in communications from Dallas Baptist College, his relatives said.
He was a professional actor, performing in plays and being cast in small parts in movies, before joining the U.S. Army, his brother Barry Hosford said.
"He was a very outgoing guy," Barry Hosford said. "He was very people-oriented. He liked people and pretty much everybody he met liked him."
Rick Hosford left the Army as a captain and joined the Fire Department in 1983. Firefighting is something of a Hosford family tradition, Barry Hosford said.
"Our grandfather was a firefighter and one of our other brothers was a firefighter," he said. "I think that tradition spurred that interest in him."
Rick Hosford was promoted to the rank of apparatus operator in 1990, according to a city news release, and had most recently been assigned to Station 13 in southwest Arlington.
"Rick served the citizens of Arlington as a professional who was a proud member of our Fire Department," fire Chief Robin Paulsgrove said in a written statement. "He was a family man known for his faith and commitment to his wife and children. His death is a tremendous loss for our entire Fire Department family and he will be deeply missed."
Barry Hosford said his brother planned to continue with the Arlington Fire Department until retirement, then go into nursing.
Rick Hosford worked part time at Huguley Memorial Medical Center for the experience in anticipation of his new career.
"Helping people was something that he enjoyed very much," Barry Hosford said.
Firefighters from Rick Hosford's station spent Thursday at Carswell Air Force Base giving first aid and medical care to hurricane refugees flown from Louisiana.
"I know he would have liked to have been there for those people," Barry Hosford said.
Rick Hosford was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Glen Rose, where he taught a Sunday school class, Pastor Brent Ferren said.
"He was one of those people who made immediate contact with people," Ferren said. "It was an interesting process to watch him walk up to a complete stranger and in two or three minutes have his arm around them and be praying with them."
Rick Hosford is survived by his wife of 30 years, Diann; his children, Tessa, Matt, Jacob and Devin; one grandson; his mother, Juanita Hosford of Denison; and three brothers.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Staff Writer Deanna Boyd Contributed to This Report.
Distributed by the Associated Press
