RED BANK – Andrew Hill left behind a lasting legacy at the Westside Hose Company in Red Bank. On May 27, Hill 26, a volunteer firefighter, was fatally stabbed during an altercation on a borough street.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that police received a call at 12:43 a.m. from an individual who reported a man had been stabbed near Tilton Avenue and Bank Street.
Responding officers found Hill at the scene. Hill was transported to Riverview Medical Center, Riverview Plaza, where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m., according to the prosecutor.
Following an investigation, Demar S. Reevey, 23, of Red Bank, was charged in connection with Hill’s death. Reevey has been charged with first degree murder and third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to the prosecutor.
On June 1, state Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon, sitting in Freehold, denied release for Reevey and ordered him to be detained pending trial in connection with Hill’s death.
In the aftermath of Hill’s death, members of the Red Bank Fire Department, of which the Westside Hose Company is one firefighting organization, were left with memories of the young man.
Second Deputy Fire Chief Scott Calabrese said he will remember Hill as a little boy with a big dream to one day serve as a firefighter for the the fire company that was stationed across the street from his childhood home.
Calabrese said Hill was a member of the Westside Hose Company for the past eight years.
“He worked very hard. He made his way up to second lieutenant … I passed a lot of knowledge onto him. He was using it,” Calabrese said. “It’s hard to put it together … it’s becoming more and more real.”
Hill “was just getting ready to turn into a man” before his life was cut short, he said.
Calabrese said he would often run into Hill when Hill was a child. Calabrese said Hill would always tell him that one day he would serve his community as an emergency responder.
Calabrese said Hill was also a member of the Red Bank First Aid and Rescue Squad and a devout attendee of the local Calvary Baptist Church. Hill was an avid musician with a particular talent for playing the drums, he said.