Two Walnuttown fire leaders died after investigators say an oncoming car crossed into their path during a community search effort.
BERKS COUNTY, Pa. — A search for a missing woman in Richmond Township ended in tragedy Saturday when a car slammed into a utility vehicle carrying two volunteer fire chiefs, killing both men and prompting DUI-related charges against the driver, authorities said.
The deaths of Jeff Buck and Robert Shick Jr. quickly became more than a traffic investigation. The men were senior leaders at Walnuttown Fire Company and were part of a broad emergency response mounted to find a missing resident. Officials said the collision happened as crews were still working the search area, and the case widened by Monday to include criminal charges, autopsies and a growing outpouring of grief from local responders. The immediate stakes were both personal and public: a rural community lost two experienced volunteers in the middle of an active mission.
Investigators said the crash happened just before 6 p.m. Saturday on Route 222 near Krause Road. Buck and Shick were traveling north in a side-by-side UTV on the shoulder when a southbound Toyota Camry veered off the road and hit them head-on. Witnesses told police the sedan had been swerving before the collision. Responders arriving at the scene found the UTV overturned and the sedan wrecked nearby after striking a pole. Buck, 60, and Shick, 56, were taken to hospitals but died from their injuries. The Berks County coroner said both men suffered blunt force trauma, and Lehigh County’s coroner’s office assisted with the autopsies scheduled for Monday.
The investigation moved quickly after officers learned the people in the car had left the scene. Police said a man and a woman ran on foot after the crash and were later found. Authorities identified the driver as 26-year-old Alexander Sepulveda-Rivera of the Bronx. According to charging documents cited by local outlets, he told investigators he had smoked marijuana earlier that day and fell asleep while driving. Police also reported finding a crack pipe and suspected marijuana in the car. Records cited in those reports said he did not have a driver’s license and had an outstanding warrant. Some parts of the case remained unsettled Monday, including whether the passenger would face any charge and when full toxicology findings would be released.
The setting of the crash explains why the story has drawn such strong local attention. Walnuttown Fire and Rescue serves a part of Berks County where volunteer departments remain a central part of emergency response. On Saturday, multiple agencies were searching for a missing 60-year-old woman when Buck and Shick joined the effort. Lt. Ryan Tyson later said the two chiefs were on their way back from that search when the collision happened. Officials later said the woman was found, though public statements gave few details beyond that. The timeline left many residents holding two outcomes at once: the search mission ended with the woman located, but the responders leading part of that effort never made it home.
Prosecutors were expected to carry the case forward Monday with a long list of charges. Local reports said Sepulveda-Rivera faces counts including homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, DUI, driving without a license and failure to stop and render aid. Those charges place the case in a familiar but serious legal track, where police crash reconstruction, witness statements, laboratory testing and court filings will shape what comes next. Funeral arrangements for Buck and Shick had not yet been announced publicly. Walnuttown Fire and Rescue said more details would be shared later, while neighboring responders and residents began mourning two men who held command roles but were also known simply as local volunteers willing to answer the next call.
Public reaction centered on loss and duty. In a statement shared after the crash, Walnuttown Fire Company said its thoughts and prayers were with the families and wrote, “Rest easy chiefs, we got it from here.” Tyson told reporters that no one really prepares for an incident like that, especially involving two leaders at the same time. The words captured the shock spreading through the fire service in Berks County, where line-of-duty deaths are felt across departments, not only inside one station. Photos and television video from the scene showed the force of the crash in plain terms, with the red UTV tipped onto its side and the sedan torn up nearby on the edge of the road.
As of Monday, the criminal case was moving ahead while investigators continued to review evidence from the crash scene and hospital testing. The next key developments are expected to come from court proceedings, any updated police filings and the release of memorial plans for the two fire chiefs.
Author note: Last updated April 6, 2026.