17-year-old Alethea Faye Nixon, a female volunteer firefighter with the Asbury department died Wednesday night when a fire truck flipped off a bridge in Marshall County.
It happened on Martling Road, at the Asbury/Albertville line. The four firefighters on the tanker truck were responding to a nearby fire. The truck plunged 40 feet, and turned upside down.
Three other volunteer firefighters were hurt.
Michael Parr was taken to Marshall Medical Center North and was treated and released.
Chris Graves is listed in critical condition at Huntsville Hospital.
And Chris Nixon, Alethea's brother is listed in critical condition at the UAB Burn Center. He has burns to 40 percent of his body.
Other volunteers in the Asbury department responded to the scene, and freed the trapped firefighters after about an hour.
Albert Childress, Asbury's fire chief, says the 17-year-old Alethea Nixon grew up in the department. Her brother, Chris Nixon and father were both volunteer firefighters with Asbury.
Chief Childress says the teenager planned to join as a full member when she turned 18.
This part of Martling Road is horseshoe-shaped, and known to be very dangerous. The bridge is very narrow, one lane, in fact.
Sandy Tims lives near the bridge, and saw the fire truck go over the bridge rail. She called 911, then ran to the site to help. Tims tells NewsChannel 19's Carson Clark she heard one of the firefighters calling for help from inside the truck.
Tims says she has always worried that a tragedy like this would happen.
Funeral Information
Visitation will be Saturday, July 29th at Albertville Funeral Home, from 1 to 9 p.m.
The funeral service will be Sunday, July 30th at 2 p.m. at Gethsemane Baptist Church in Albertville. Burial will follow at Mount High Cemetery near Martling.
Memorial Fund Established
A memorial fund has been set up for the families of Alethea Nixon, Chris Nixon, Chris Graves and Michael Parr.
You can make a donation at any location of AmSouth Bank, to the Asbury Firefighters Memorial Fund.
All money will go to the families to help pay for medical costs, and for Alethea Nixon's funeral.
For more information, call Thad Brooks at (256) 894-4698 or (256) 302-0341.
Friends of Teen Raise Money for Funeral
Friends of the 17-year-old volunteer firefighter who died Wednesday night were out raising money Friday to help out with funeral costs.
Alethea Nixon was riding in a tanker truck that flipped over the Martling Bridge in Marshall County. She and three other volunteer firefighters were responding to a house fire in Alder Springs. Two of the firefighters are still in critical condition. One of them is Alethea's brother.
Michael Parr, the volunteer firefighter driving the truck, was treated and released. Friday, her friends raised money at the Guntersville Wal-Mart to help with burial costs.
"We care so much about her," said Chrissy Barton, a friend of Alethea's. "She always made us laugh. And we know she'd be here doing it for us."
Alethea's friends had a goal of raising $1,000, but raised more than $6,000. However, they say no amount of money can bring back the joy she brought into their lives.
Related
- Video and More Stories: Full Coverage and Video on WHNT
- Asbury Fire Department
