A Mizpah firefighter died in a one-car crash Christmas morning.
Natalie Dempsey was heading to a structure fire call in her personal vehicle when the crash occurred, Chief Jay Davenport II confirmed to BreakingAC.
“She was just one of those people you just couldn’t help but like,” he said. “She could turn a room into the happiest room in the world.”
Dempsey, who just turned 21 earlier this month, was vice president of the fire company, where she was lovingly referred to as “Baby Girl.”
She was heading west on Landis Avenue shortly after the 6:15 a.m. fire call came in when she lost control, went off the road and struck a guardrail, police said.
'She was just one of those people you just couldn't help but like. She could turn a room into the happiest room in the world.'
Mizpah Fire Chief Jay Davenport II
Davenport stopped at the crash scene to assist after leaving the fire, not knowing it was Dempsey.
As he approached, he said he knew the car.
One of his line officers told him the woman inside had died at the scene.
Davenport said he walked over to the car, opened the door and “it was her.”
“Her world was lollipops and rainbows,” he said of Dempsey. “She was a beautiful person. She was one of the best.”
Both Mizpah and Mays Landing firefighters assisted at the scene, along with the Township of Hamilton Rescue Squad.
Dempsey's funeral will be with full honors since it was a line-of-duty death, Mizpah announced.
