Chad Smith had just finished practicing for the role of Jesus in a church musical Sunday.

He was driving home when his car hydroplaned and hit a tree in Rockdale County.

Smith, 42, was killed instantly, Channel 2 Action News reported.

“One afternoon he's portraying Jesus,” said his pastor, Gary Waterman, “and the next moment he's actually talking to Jesus.”

So Smith’s fellow firefighters, without knowing beforehand, responded to an accident involving one of their own.

"It was a shock,” one fellow firefighter said. “He had just gotten off duty that morning."

Smith, a lieutenant, was with the Rockdale County fire department for 15 years.

"You never know,” Waterman said, “when it's going to be the last moment to hug someone again and tell them they mean the world to you.”

In other news:

It happened just blocks from campus.

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Helen Gilbert places flowers on her brother Eurie Martin’s grave at Camp Spring Baptist Church in Sandersville. Her brother died eight years ago. Three former Washington County deputies are accused of causing his death and are set to stand trial Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez