Fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard escorted home

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·1 min read
A vehicle procession in Riverside County begins to escort the body of fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard back to the town where he served.
A vehicle procession in Riverside County begins to escort the body of fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard back to the town where he served.

A vehicle procession escorted the body of fallen Apple Valley Fire Protection District Engineer Jared Shepard from Riverside County back to the town where he served.

Just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, motorcycles and several fire vehicles left the Riverside County Coroner's facility and traveled north on Interstate 15 until it arrived in the Victor Valley.

Along the way, firefighters and first responders stood near or atop their emergency vehicles on freeway overpasses to salute the fallen Shepard.

In Apple Valley, fire officials flanked the back of a black vehicle as they saluted Shepard, who was escorted into a cremation facility at the corner of Powhatan and Nomwaket roads.

A vehicle procession that began in Riverside County with the body of fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard arrives back in the town where he served.
A vehicle procession that began in Riverside County with the body of fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard arrives back in the town where he served.

On Sunday, Shepard was taken to a Menifee hospital after being seriously injured in a motorcycle practice run in Lake Elsinore. He was preparing for the Police and Fire Christmas Grand Prix Inland Regional in Wildomar, according to AV Fire Inspector Jennifer Eisenbrey.

Shepard's body was later escorted via procession from the hospital to the Riverside County Coroner’s office, Eisenbrey told the Daily Press.

Former Apple Valley Fire Chief Sid Hultquist said he had the privilege of interviewing and hiring Shepard, an awesome man.

“Without a doubt, Jared was one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and a rock-solid fireman,” Hultquist said. “My family’s thoughts and prayers go out to Jared’s family and all of my fellow brothers and sisters at the AVFD family.”

Loved ones are mourning the death of Apple Valley Fire engineer Jared Shepard, who was off-duty when he suffered fatal injuries during an off-road motorcycle collision on Sunday.
Loved ones are mourning the death of Apple Valley Fire engineer Jared Shepard, who was off-duty when he suffered fatal injuries during an off-road motorcycle collision on Sunday.

Shepard served with Apple Valley Fire since 2017. Before then he worked for the Fort Irwin Fire Department and was a paid-on-call firefighter in Victorville, Eisenbrey said.

Memorial services for Shepard are pending.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Fallen Apple Valley Fire Engineer Jared Shepard escorted home