Joseph M. Herman died Sunday in a motorcycle crash, decades after his father was killed in the line of duty.
A New York City firefighter who died in a motorcycle crash cherished his job and being a devoted new father, grieving colleagues told Newsweek.
Joseph M. Herman, a 36-year-old firefighter at Ladder Company 111 in Brooklyn, died late Sunday after a crash on the Southern State Parkway, where he was thrown off his motorcycle while attempting to change lanes, state police said.
Herman, a talented athlete who also played for the FDNY’s football and lacrosse teams, was subsequently stuck by another motorcycle and later pronounced dead at a hospital. The 10-year firefighting veteran is survived by his wife, mother, stepfather and 1-year-old daughter, Lacy Leigh Herman.
«Joey was kind and patient», FDNY Capt. Alan Beach told Newsweek. «He got along with kids just as well as adults. You know, my three kids called him the ‘funcle’ — he was the fun uncle. But make no mistake, Joey was all about being a fireman, he was all about 111 Truck and when Joey had to be a killer or an assassin, he was.»
Herman’s compassion would morph into intensity when responding to a fire or stepping onto a football or lacrosse field, Beach said.
«You put Joey on the fire floor, you put Joey on the athletic field, that wasn’t the same kind and patient kid you would see playing with your kids», he said.
Beach said Herman, who previously played lacrosse at Nassau Community College, convinced him to play for the FDNY’s team shortly after joining the department a decade ago.
