{"id":160673,"date":"2026-04-08T18:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/160673\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T18:21:10","slug":"families-mourn-2-fire-chiefs-killed-in-berks-county-pa-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/160673\/","title":{"rendered":"Families mourn 2 fire chiefs killed in Berks County, Pa. crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

RICHMOND TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Family members of two fire chiefs in Berks County<\/a> who were killed in a crash spoke publicly on Tuesday, sharing memories of the men shortly after authorities released new information about the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n

The families of Walnuttown Fire Chief Jeff Buck and Assistant Chief Robert Schick Jr. have known each other for decades and described a bond rooted in friendship as much as service. The widows spoke at the Walnuttown Fire Station, where they reflected on the closeness of their families and the shock of the news.<\/p>\n

“We were at their wedding and we toilet papered their house and everything else, and just the kind of the way we were with each other. We had a lot of fun, you know?” said Shick’s wife, Jennifer.<\/p>\n

She says the moment she learned about the crash is a memory that will never fade.<\/p>\n

“All of a sudden, (my daughter) is running and saying the call they just went to, it’s Rob and Jeff. The adrenaline (rushed), and we knew,” she said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE | Driver charged with DUI, homicide by vehicle after crash kills 2 fire chiefs in Berks County<\/a><\/p>\n

Investigators say the crash happened Saturday evening while Buck and Shick were responding to a call to assist in the search for a missing woman. The two were on the side of Route 222 riding a UTV when a swerving car veered toward them. They were struck head-on and both men were killed.<\/p>\n

Authorities identified the driver as 26-year-old Alexander Sepulveda Rivera of the Bronx.<\/p>\n

Berks County District Attorney John Adams said Rivera was arrested and faces multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence.<\/p>\n

“He admitted he smoked marijuana the same day. He was also found with a crack pipe, and he admitted the crack pipe was his,” Adams said.<\/p>\n

Adams also said Rivera does not have a driver’s license.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Procession honors Walnuttown fire chief and assistant chief killed by alleged impaired driver<\/a><\/p>\n

A procession of fire trucks followed a pair of hearses through part of Bucks County on Monday to honor a chief and assistant chief killed in a crash.<\/p>\n

Family members and colleagues gathered Tuesday at the firehouse to remember Buck and Shick as men who were devoted to their work and deeply committed to their families.<\/p>\n

Buck’s son, Robert, described a photo of his father that he said captured his spirit.<\/p>\n

“He was wearing his helmet. His turnout coat, basketball shorts, and a pair of Crocs, and it’s like he was unapologetically himself,” he said.<\/p>\n

Buck’s wife, also named Jennifer, said her husband’s death has left a lasting absence for their family, particularly for his grandchildren.<\/p>\n

“He loves his family and deeply loved his grandchildren. They’re going to miss their pop-pop so much,” she said.<\/p>\n

Rivera is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail. A public viewing for Buck and Shick is scheduled for Friday night at Fleetwood High School, with funeral services planned for Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RICHMOND TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Family members of two fire chiefs in Berks County who were killed in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72553,128,130,129],"class_list":["post-160673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-72553","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}