A Kentucky firefighter died in the line of duty Monday when his vehicle hydroplaned and crashed while he was responding to an emergency call.
Firefighter/EMT Randy Utley, 30, was a firefighter with Grayson Fire Department and an EMT with Carter County EMS. He joined the fire department in May, 2001 and was certified as an EMT in June, 2002.
Utley was at the scene of a traffic accident Monday when he left to answer another emergency call, said Battalion Chief Duane Suttles.
Suttles said the department had backlogged medical calls as well as a report of people trapped by high water, and it was unclear which emergency Utley was responding to.
"We don't know if he was going to retrieve a backup ambulance to make a medical run or if he was responding to the station to retrieve a boat, to respond to the flood call," Suttles said. "We do know he was acting in the capacity of a firefighter."
Utley was driving with his emergency equipment activated when his Ford Ranger hydroplaned, left the road, and struck a billboard post.
The fire department was called to respond and Chief Greg Felty arrived first on the scene in his command vehicle. He began treatment and fire crews arrived to extricate Utley from the wreckage. He was transported by ambulance to the trauma center in Huntington, West Virginia, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Utley is survived by his nine-year-old son, his brother, sister and mother. He worked as a carpenter for the state through the Northeast Area Development Council, which helps to provide low income housing and to protect homes against the weather in rural areas.
"He was very outgoing, full of life," Suttles said. "He never said no if you needed help with something." Suttles said Utley was very active with the fire department and often traveled long distances for further training.
This was the first time department firefighters have responded to one of their own under such tragic circumstances, and the first line of duty death since the department was organized in 1933, Suttles said. The all-volunteer department protects a population of about 10,000 in the city of Grayson and the surrounding area, over a total of 90 square miles.
Utley will be buried with full honors. Sparks Funeral Home in Grayson is in charge of arrangements that follow: Visitation at the funeral home is from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, and all day Thursday, June 19.
The funeral will be held Friday, June 20, 1 p.m. at East Carter High School, Hitchins Road in Grayson. Staging for apparatus will be at the Grayson FD Headquarters located at Third Street and Carol Malone Blvd. in Grayson. Apparatus should report at 10 a.m.
