Community mourns loss of father, son, both firefighters

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — A community is mourning the loss of a man and his son, both firefighters, in Caldwell County, South Carolina.

Chris Gragg, 53, and Cody Gragg, 23, died Saturday in a crash on I-77 in Chester County.

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The flag at Collettsville Fire and Rescue is flying at half-staff in honor of the Graggs, who volunteered there. The Collettsville Fire and Rescue also put a picture on its Facebook page showing the Graggs' gear on top of a fire truck.

"Everybody knew of them," community member Terry Cooke said.

Those who didn't know the two men teared up at the mention of their deaths.

"They're a pillar of the community," Donna Fillers, a community resident, said.

WSOC-TV was told that the Graggs were on their way to a motocross race in Georgia when a tire blew on their recreational vehicle and they ran off the road. The vehicle went down an embankment, and the RV caught fire.

Troopers said the driver and the passenger were pronounced dead at the scene.

Neighbors said the family's shrubbery business is well known in the area, along with Cody Gragg's love of racing.

"Everybody knew that the little guy raced, and he was really great at it," Fillers said. "I can only imagine what the family is going through."

Collettsville fire Chief Larry Price worked alongside Chris Gragg, a lieutenant in the department, for years.

"They're like brothers to us all. We're devastated," Price said.

Price said the father and son gave hours of their time to serve their community, often together.

"They were really close all the time," Price said. "They went racing all the time. When they were here at the Fire Department, Cody was with his dad on calls. You'd see them riding around together, show up together.

"They were fantastic people. Cody, he drove hard, he never gave up. Chris, he was a joker, a lighthearted person, (a) wonderful person."

Cox Media Group