Firefighter, family killed in multi-fatality car crash in Cooke County

COOKE COUNTY, Texas - A car crash in Cooke County on Saturday night left a volunteer firefighter and several members of his family dead.

Paradise firefighter, family killed in crash

What we know:

On Saturday, March 14, the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to a two-vehicle crash near FM-51 and County Road 383 in Cooke County. The crash occurred around 8:20 p.m. on Saturday evening.

Texas DPS' investigation indicated a Kia SUV was traveling southbound on FM-51 when it attempted to pass another car in a no-passing zone. It then collided head on with a Nissan SUV, causing the Nissan to catch on fire.

31-year-old Cooper Bailey, his wife Jennifer and their son Hudson, who were in the Nissan SUV, were killed in the crash. Their daughter was seriously injured and remains in a local hospital.

The driver of the Kia SUV was pronounced deceased at the scene.

What we don't know:

We don't know the name of the driver of the Kia SUV who was killed.

Coworkers remember Cooper Bailey

What they're saying:

"Somber mood. Yes. Like I said, I think everybody’s still just coming to grasp the fact that it’s real, you know."

The 31-year-old Bailey was a volunteer firefighter for the Paradise Volunteer Firefighter Department in Wise County. His coworkers at say he had just received his EMT training, and was a week away from taking the certification test.

"He was one of those individuals that was always present, always ready to be here, always wanting to be here," Darrell Rutledge, a friend and volunteer firefighter with Paradise Volunteer FD, told FOX 4's Dionne Anglin.

Rutledge remembered Bailey as a man of dignity and someone who was always ready to help.

"Regardless of whether it was calls, emergency incidents we were going on or fundraisers for our department or a community event, he was always here and part of those," Rutledge continued.

Jeremy Goodman, the Paradise Fire Chief, says a passer-by was able to pull Bailey's daughter from the wreckage, but the effort to save the others was futile.

"Listening to the report of what we’ve been told, we know what happened. It is one of those, regardless of who it is or where it is. When you arrive on the scene, you obviously do the best you can to make any rescues you can, but sometimes it’s just not, it’s just not going to happen," Goodman said.

Nathan Doughty, a fellow Paradise firefighter, remembered Bailey in a Facebook post made on Sunday evening.

"Cooper was the kind of person that would take the shirt off of his own back and give it to a complete stranger, no questions asked, and that showed dearly through his perseverance and dedication to serving not only the citizens of Paradise but everyone he met," Doughty wrote.

What's next:

Members of Paradise Volunteer FD will gather at their station Monday night with a chaplain to remember Bailey and his family.

"Not only does that help each individual, but we need to be here for each other, we need to be here for Cooper," Goodman told Anglin.

A donation page has been made in support of Bailey's family, which you can find here.