Lieutenant Regina Huffman

Firefighters responded to an ATV accident with two people seriously injured. Helicopters were summoned for transport.

As the apparatus Firefighter Huffman was riding in left the scene to go to the landing zone, it slipped off the roadway into a ditch, overturned, and continued down an embankment through two buildings and into the side of a trailer. Firefighter Huffman and another firefighter -- her oldest son -- were injured.

Firefighter Huffman died from her injuries a few hours later at a local hospital. Her son's injuries were minor. No other firefighters were injured.

In August 2024, the driver of the apparatus, Firefighter Austin Turner, who was the son of the fire chief, was arrested and charged with murder and wanton endangerment in relation to the incident. It was alleged that he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Firefighter Turner’s mother was also arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence. She allegedly assisted her son in leaving the scene of the crash before law enforcement officers arrived.