Tragedy struck in a Dairy Queen drive-thru in Iowa, when a 74-year-old man was killed by his own truck as he tried to jumpstart the vehicle.
On April 16, Curtis Schantz of Alburnett was in the drive-thru of the ice cream chain when his truck broke down, The Gazette reports. Authorities say Schantz got out of the truck and opened the hood in an attempt to fix the vehicle when it rolled forward, running him over before he could get out of the way.
Suffering life-threatening injuries from the freak accident, Schantz was taken to a hospital where he later died, police said.
The loss of the master electrician and longtime volunteer firefighter is being mourned all throughout Alburnett, KWWL reports. As of 2016 US Census estimates, the town was home to just 699 people.
“He’s kind, he’s dedicated to church, his family, the community. And he’s giving – just anything that anybody needs, he was there with a helping hand,” Ron Hoover, former Alburnett fire chief, told WAPT. “Everybody is friends, and we’re all just kind of expanded family. We’ll miss Curtis showing up for breakfast, and meeting people for coffee and telling stories; he was a good storyteller.”
The Alburnett Fire Department shared similar sentiments on their Facebook page.
“Alburnett Fire lost a good man, firefighter, mentor and friend today … His knowledge and experience will be greatly missed,” the department wrote of Schantz, who volunteered with the group for 33 years.
“Always a nice guy always smile and always had a great time with him,” a commenter wrote. “We lost a wonderful guy rest in peace old friend.”
His funeral is scheduled for the morning of April 20.
In memorial, Shantz’ son has placed an ice cream sundae at the spot where the accident happened, WAPT reports.