Procession before funeral honors fallen Dallas firefighter
Apr 9, 2018Alongside his good friend Trevor Cadigan, McDaniel was killed in a helicopter crash in New York City last weekend. They were both just 26. McDaniel was laid to rest on Friday. A procession of Dallas police motorcycle officers, firefighters, family, friends and patriot guard riders followed his body from Sparkman-Crane Funeral Home in Dallas to Coleman Church of Christ in Coleman, OK. Brian McDaniel (Dallas Fire-Rescue) "The family needs to know that he's loved," said Deborah Ungles, a patriot guard rider. "We miss him. Even if we don't know him personally. It's a tight community." The non-profit group honors fallen military personnel and first responders by riding motorcycles to their funeral services in solidarity. McDaniel served as a Dallas firefighter for nearly two years and was assigned to station 36 in West Dallas. "We're very sorry for their loss and we hope their hearts will heal in time," Ungles said.All along the more than 100-mile procession, firefighters gathered on overpasses with ladders on trucks raised high to pay their respects. Andrew Vidales, McDaniel's former cycling coach at Bishop Lynch High School, stood next to the Dallas police motorcycles outside the funeral home to say good bye. "Just basically a farewell and I'll see you, God willing, down the road," Vidales said."His time was too short on this earth but it's not up to decide when his time was up," Vidales said. "Every one of us is God's children, we belong to him, as much as us human beings want to hold on to our loved ones here, we have to let them go."© 2018 WFAA... (WFAA)