
Plainview Fire Captain James Harrison Hart died Wednesday morning when his vehicle crashed on his way home from fighting wildfire, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports.
Hart, 37, was traveling west on US 70 near County Road R, about two miles west of the city, just before 12:30 a.m. when the 2000 Jeep Wrangler he was driving crossed the highway and hit a ditch on the south side of the road. Hart overcorrected and the vehicle skidded into the north ditch before flipping. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the newspaper reports.
The city issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of City of Plainview Fire Department member Captain James Harrison Hart,” says Jeffrey Snyder, City Manager. “Our employees are the most valuable part of our organization, and to lose an employee is to lose a family member. We ask for continued prayers for his family and city staff as we grieve this loss.”
Hart was a member of the department for 16 years.