A decorated New York firefighter was killed in a horrific crash at a tourist attraction in North Carolina after a tree fell on the SUV he and his family were riding in, according to reports. his family.
Firefighter Casey Skudin, who was assigned to Ladder Company 137 in Rockaway, Queens, was in North Carolina with his wife and children to celebrate his 46th birthday when he passed away Friday afternoon. His birthday will fall on Father’s Day.
“Our family will be healed forever,” his wife, Angela Skudin, said in a post on Facebook. Instagram.
In a statement, the New York Fire Department called Mr Skudin’s death a “terrible tragedy and loss”, and said it would support his family and colleagues.
The accident happened near the entrance to Biltmore Estate, a popular tourist attraction in Asheville, when a wind storm blew a heavy limb from a tree, hitting the vehicle.
Mr. Skudin’s wife and eldest child escaped without serious injuries; Ms Skudin said in a post on her Instagram his young child had been hospitalized with minor injuries.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and we are deeply saddened by this news. Our sincere thoughts are with their families and loved ones, and we are supportive at this time,” said Biltmore Estate. The property is an 8,000-acre resort and the former castle of George W. Vanderbilt.
Mr. Skudin, who was once valedictorian in the fire academy class, worked at a separate engine company in Brooklyn before moving to a ladder house in the Rockaways, where he was an able rescue swimmer. , according to the Fire Department. In 2009, he was awarded the department’s Fire Chiefs Association Memorial Medal after he got into the water, untethered, to rescue a drowned surfer off 96th Street beach.
Mr. Skudin comes from a famous surfing family run several popular surf shops and surf classes in Long Beach, Long Island and Rockaway as Skudin Surf. A lifelong surfer, he was a lifeguard for the town of Hempstead, NY, for two decades, said Cliff Skudin, his cousin.
“Casey is an incredible human being,” he said. “This is so tragic, and it’s beyond anything you can imagine.”
Skudin is often outdoors, his cousin said, and he often takes his family to Montauk, NY or hiking. He’s a regular triathlete, he’s on the Fire Department’s surfing team, and he’s also a CrossFit coach.
On Sunday, Skudin Surf held a memorial where friends and loved ones could drop by and sign Skudin’s surfboard, Cliff Skudin said. The store plans to hold a boating ceremony in his memory on June 26 at Lido West beach.
