By Laura French
SABINE COUNTY, Texas — Three members of a Texas volunteer fire department were killed in an off-duty vehicle collision on Saturday.
Pendleton Harbor Volunteer Fire Department members Vanessa Davis, 28, Jason Davis, 38, and Ralph Cheyenne Hill, 48, were killed when a pickup truck going eastbound struck a car that was pulling out of a private driveway, causing the pickup to veer into the westbound lane and collide with a pickup truck carrying the Davises and Hill, according to KJAS.
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. David Hendry said the driver of the car had failed to yield the right-of-way when leaving the driveway.
Hill, Jason Davis and Vanessa Davis, who was driving at the time of the crash, were pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver of the car, Curtis Harrison, 44, was airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries. The driver and passenger in the other pickup truck, whose names were not released, did not sustain any injuries.
“Tonight we come and ask for prayers for our department! Tonight a tone dropped for 3 car accident never did we think it would be one of our own!” Pendleton Harbor Volunteer Fire Department officials wrote in a Facebook post. “We lost 3 members tonight! Our assistant chief lost his brother also! Please keep all our families in their prayers!!”
Online fundraisers have been set up for the families of the fallen members. Jason and Vanessa Davis were husband and wife and the parents of three children, according to the GoFundMe page set up to assist their family. Hill was a father and grandfather, according to the GoFundMe for his family, which states “his favorite thing was being a Pop Pop to his grand babies!” Hill was also the brother of the department’s assistant chief. Hill’s son, Keith, is a firefighter for the nearby Hemphill Volunteer Fire Department, and Keith’s wife, Veronica, works for the Pendleton Harbor Volunteer Fire Department.