ARDMORE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds turned out Saturday to honor a Montgomery County firefighter who was struck and killed in the line of duty last weekend on the Schuylkill Expressway in Lower Merion Township.
Bagpipes played as family and friends of fallen firefighter Thomas Royds walked along a path lined with firefighters on both sides. His helmet was carried into the Lower Merion High School auditorium, where a viewing took place.
"It's a tradition in the fire service that anyone killed in the line of duty gets the highest honors and we are giving that to him as much we can," said Lower Merion Township Fire Chief Chas McGarvey.
"The family did not want to have a service, but they are having a viewing. It's a tradition in the fire service, it's been a tradition for many, many years and I think it is a wonderful and beautiful tribute."
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The 48-year-old Royds was responding to a crash on I-76 near the Gladwyne exit on July 24 when he was hit by another driver. He was pronounced dead shortly after. A Pennsylvania state trooper and two other firefighters were also injured.
McGarvey said Royds is being remembered by friends, family and peers as a hero.
"You don’t ever expect it to happen but we're here to serve," he said. "You know we give of ourselves for others, and that’s why we do what we do."
Royds worked full-time with the Union Fire Association in Bala Cynwyd, and also volunteered with the Clifton Heights Fire Department. He was covering a shift at the Belmont Hills Fire Company when he was killed.
The driver, 63-year-old Jacquelyn Walker from South Jersey, was charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.
Royds was the second Lower Merion firefighter to die in the line of duty in a month, following volunteer firefighter Sean DeMuynck. DeMuynck died on July 4 while responding to a house fire in Wynnewood.
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