UPTOWN — A Chicago firefighter was killed Thursday in a Downstate motorcycle accident, Fire Department officials said.
Fire Department Chief Juan Hernandez said Sean Sloe suffered fatal injuries driving his motorcycle in Springfield.
Sloe, 37, was pronounced dead at 11:45 a.m. after a crash on southbound I-55 at the Clear Lake Avenue exit, said Sangamon County Coroner Cinda Edwards. The State Journal-Register reported that the accident happened when Sloe's motorcycle crashed into a pair of semitrailers.
Sloe lived in Uptown, in the 4200 block of North Marine Drive, records show. He was assigned to Truck 55 at 6030 N. Avondale Ave., in Norwood Park.
Sloe was a native of the Springfield area, and he and his brother once worked as volunteer firefighters in Downstate Riverton.
Fire officials said Sloe joined the department in 2005 and that his brother works for the Springfield Fire Department. Springfield fire Chief Ken Fustin described the brothers as "just really really good guys, well-liked, good firemen and paramedics."
“This is a very, very sad loss for the Chicago Fire Department and the fire service in general," Fustin said.
Sean Sloe's brother, Michael Sloe, updated his Facebook profile picture early Friday morning to show a picture of the two brothers posing on a boating dock. The Facebook page showed an outpouring of condolences and support as people from the area who knew Sean Sloe shared memories of the Chicago firefighter they said was "a good man."
One woman who knew him, Tammy Bly, commented she would "miss his mischievous smile at the back of my boat, Guinness in hand, telling me it's time to get the party started."
Springfield firefighter Bradley Deal posted that he "considered Sean to be a good friend" who "never failed to stop by the engine house during the State Fair."
Authorities said the crash is under investigation.
