In March 2022, while off-duty and traveling in Colorado, Firefighter Joe Messina tragically lost his life in a motor vehicle accident.
The Olathe Fire Department announced on Twitter and said its prayers and thoughts were with Messina’s wife, family, friends, and fellow firefighters and soldiers.
Joe Messina, who was also a member of the Missouri Army National Guard, was off-duty when the crash happened.
“Today, our hearts are heavy as we feel the loss of one of our own,” the Olathe Fire Department said on Facebook. “While off-duty and traveling in Colorado, Firefighter Joe Messina tragically lost his life in a motor vehicle accident.”
His death news was made public after his devastated mother, Cyndi Neitzke Messina shared the news in a Facebook publication, where she wrote;
“My dear, sweet, crazy boy was taken from this world way too early today in a car accident in Colorado.”
“Joe was a goof ball and definitely the member of our family who got us all laughing. He had a huge heart and a sense of service,”
Messina’s wife, Michelle Messina, was with him during the accident and was treated at a hospital in Denver.