Jayme Lozano
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock Fire Rescue Lt. Eric Hill and LPD Officer Nicholas Reyna were escorted to Fort Worth Sunday morning as hundreds of residents, officers, firefighters and other first responders lined up to honor the fallen heroes.
Hill, 39, and Reyna, 27, both died Saturday morning while responding to a crash in hazardous weather in North Lubbock. Another first responder, 30-year-old firefighter Matt Dawson, was also critically injured during the incident, but remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to officials.
Lubbock police and fire honor guard members accompanied the first responders on their Hero Walk before they were driven to Fort Worth for an official autopsy. During the drive, state troopers in each county on the way escorted Hill and Reyna.
The crash occurred just after 8:30 a.m. Saturday, when roads were slick from ice and snow from the night before.
According to LPD, they were responding to a single-vehicle rollover on Interstate 27 and Drew Street. While on the scene for that crash, a second vehicle pulling a trailer also wrecked near the scene. Emergency personnel were working on both crashes when a third vehicle crossed into the median and hit Dawson, Hill, and Reyna.
Hill served Lubbock Fire Rescue for ten years and Reyna served with LPD for one year. Dawson has been with the department for five years. GoFundMe campaigns have been created for all of the responders.