City firefighter dies after motorcycle crash

A Columbus firefighter was killed in a motorcycle crash Downtown Tuesday night.

The fatal motorcycle crash was the third in five days in the city, according to the Columbus police Accident Investigation Unit.

Derek T. Walton, 32, was riding a 2014 Suzuki west on East Long Street near North 11th Street with other motorcyclists when he lost control for unknown reasons, police said. His bike overturned, sliding toward the north side of Long Street at 9:38 p.m. It struck a light pole and continued east on Long Street, coming to rest just west of Lester Drive.

Walton was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:53 p.m. It was the same hospital where he began his training to become a paramedic.

“One of the things that stands out to me about Derek is that he was so excited about becoming a paramedic, he started his training on his own time at (OhioHealth) Grant hospital instead of waiting for the next Columbus Fire class,” Assistant Chief James Cannell said in a released statement. “He will be greatly missed.”

Walton would have reached his fourth anniversary with the Columbus Division of Fire in June. He worked at Station 23 on the East Side near South Hamilton Road and East Livingston Avenue.

Walton grew up in Columbus and graduated from South High School Urban Academy in 2003. He served in the Army from 2004 to 2007.

There have been 27 traffic fatalities in the city in 2018. Walton