21-year-old has an unborn child
Hiwassee Dam – Firefighters around Cherokee County are mourning the loss of one of their own, a volunteer firefighter who was killed in a traffic collision sometime late Saturday or early Sunday.
Ethan Parker Hedrick was a 21-year-old resident of Hiwassee Dam, according to his obituary at Ivie Funeral Home. Among family members, he leaves behind his girlfriend, Rachel Dobbs, and their unborn son, Waylon James Hedrick.
His funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the chapel of Ivie Funeral Home in downtown Murphy with the Revs. Josh Ledford, Greg Swain and Bob Boozer officiating. Interment will take place in Mount Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery.
“Sad day,” according to a post on the Hiwassee Dam Fire Department’s Facebook page. “We learned this morning we lost firefighter Ethan Hedrick in a vehicle collision. Ethan joined as a junior but has been around the department with his dad since he was a baby. He was a fourth-generation firefighter following his great-grandpa, his grandpa and his daddy into the department.
“This is a great loss to our department, our community and, most of all, his family. Please remember his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
The post had almost 400 interactions, 73 comments and 170 shares by Monday morning.
The cause of Saturday morning’s crash was still under investigation, N.C, Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Dockery told the Cherokee Scout.
Hedrick was driving westbound on U.S. 19 in Marble when his vehicle left the road, hit a guardrail and rolled over several times, Dockery said. Hedrick was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Dockery said it’s unclear what time the collision occurred or what caused it. The accident was first reported at 7:53 a.m. Sunday. It had been raining that night, and road conditions could have been wet.