BROOKLINE, N.H. — In a parent’s worst nightmare, volunteer firefighter Steven Whitcomb responded to a horrific three-vehicle accident on Christmas Eve, only to find out later the dying young woman was his own daughter.
“Her father was the one who pulled her out of the car without knowing it was her,” Brookline police chief William Quigley told the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Katie Hamilton was driving south on Route 13 at 9 a.m. on Tuesday when, according to WMUR, she slowed down to make a left turn onto Route 130 and was hit from behind by a pickup truck driven by 31-year-old Greg Cullen. Her SUV was pushed into opposing traffic and struck broadside by another truck driven by James Ciprotti, 37.
Whitcomb, a plumber who served as a volunteer with the Brookline Fire Department, told the Nashua Telegraph, “You grieve and then you try to put it all back together.”
The small fire department that serves the town of fewer than 5,000 residents is still recovering from the unexpected death of Deputy Chief Curt Jensen less than a month ago. The 51-year-old man died at home on November 20. His funeral shut down the intersection — in front of the Brookline Safety Complex — where Hamilton was killed.