Troopers are looking for the driver who hit a Rockingham County emergency responder and kept on driving. The hit-and-run crash happened Saturday night just before 9:00 on US 29 South.
Trooper Danny Burgess says Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Gary Brown was helping a driver involved in another crash when he was hit by the unknown driver. Trooper Burgess says Chief Brown is in serious but stable condition at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro. Chief Brown had surgery Saturday night and is in a lot of pain, but in good spirits, according to Betty Jean Cardwell, the Assistant Chief of the Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department.
When you ask people in the Ruffin community, they'll tell you that Gary Brown is more than a fire chief.
He's a father, a grandfather, and a friend.
Now, the volunteer firefighters he leads are rallying together to support the family of the man affectionately known as "Peanut." Cardwell says the volunteer firefighters will have to come together and work hard to keep the community safe while they're without their leader.
"We are very close knit group," said Cardwell. "We feel like family. We look to him for guidance. We look to him to keep our group together. We are going to be lost without him until he can get back."
Cardwell says Brown is recovering from surgery after he broke his leg in two places.
Cardwell said he was injured in a hit and run accident doing what he does best -- helping others.