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.

About the Author

Keep Reading

The SNAP program provided benefits to about 13% of Georgia’s population, 1.4 million people, during the 2024 fiscal year. (Associated Press)

Credit: Sipa USA via AP

Featured

Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC