AM Stone | WVOW Radio
AMHERSTDALE A candlelight vigil was held at Buffalo Creek for a first responder hospitalized after a single-vehicle accident Friday, September 30.
A volunteer at the Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department, 25-year-old Dustin Hurley is also an EMT with the Boone County Emergency Management Authority. He was driving to work that morning when he lost control of his car and crashed.
In the aftermath of the crash a community came together to help one of their own.
Family, friends, and fellow first responders came together and lifted Hurley up in prayer. They lit candles as a show of community at the fire department.
Hurley was critically injured and has been hospitalized ever since. He slowly been improving every day. The evening of the vigil, good news from the family.
Hurley’s stepmother Stephanie said her stepson was able to breathe on his own and was talking.
“Today, they were able to pull every tube and line from his body even the breathing tube,” Stephanie told media at the vigil. “He is talking, and he is awake.”
Stephanie said the outpouring of concern from the community following the accident has been incredible.
“People have been so overwhelmingly kind,” Stephanie said, “It is incredible how Dustin has brought so many people together.”
Since the accident, a GoFundMe page has been set up to assist the family while Dustin recovers. The page has generated more than $1,100.