COLES COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - After his death in a crash, friends of a Coles County firefighter are remembering the special person they knew.

Mehdi Mourad, 21, died Sunday while responding to a crash on I-57. 

According to Gary Kepley with the Wabash Fire Protection District, Mourad was responding to a multiple vehicle crash. 

Illinois State Police say it happened at just after 4:30 p.m. Sunday when Mourad, who is from Mattoon, was headed to the crash. ISP says a vehicle was stopped on the side of the interstate due to severe weather at milepost 188. The vehicle Mourad was driving lost control and rear-ended the vehicle stopped on the side of the interstate. Mourad was trapped in the vehicle and had to be extradited. 
 
Mourad was taken to Carle Hospital, where he died.

The two passengers, a 54-year old and 12-year old, in the car which was pulled over on the interstate were taken to an area hospital but are expected to be OK. They are both from Centralia.

It is unclear if anyone else was hurt in the crash.

Mourad was the type of person who always thought of others first, his friends from Lake Land College said. They called him selfless and a friend to anyone.
 
"I cannot tell you the amount of times he would walk us home if we didn't feel safe, or if it was storming, he would drive us home," one friend said. "It was anything to help anyone." 
 
Mourad was part of the automotive program at Lake Land College. When the crash claimed his life, it was only his fifth day with the fire department. 
 
A GoFundMe has been started to cover funeral expenses for Mourad. It has raised over $10,000. Click here to see the fundraiser page. 
 
Anyone wishing to start a memorial for Mourad is asked to start it at the fire protection district and not on the highway, for safety reasons. 
 
The visitation for Mourad is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 3 at New Hope Church in Effingham (2210 N. Raney St.). The funeral service will be at noon Saturday at the same location. 
 
Click here to see more information about those services.Â