LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Dane Northcutt always wanted to be a police officer. He talked about it, even as a young child.
So it was no surprise that the 23-year-old was riding along with a Carroll County Sheriff's deputy last Friday night.
(NOTE: The video in the player above is from a Jan. 29 story about a memorial to the two deputies.)
Northcutt also worked for the sheriff's office as a jail deputy.
Tragically, both Northcutt and Deputy Noah Rainey's young lives would be cut short that night – as they did what they both lived to do – help others.
Rainey was heading to a call for help in neighboring Clinton County when his patrol car left the road and crashed into a utility pole on State Road 26 a few miles east of Rossville. Both officers were pronounced dead at the scene.
"Deputy Noah Rainey and Jail Officer Dane Northcutt embodied the true meaning of a public servant. The dedication to service to their fellow man was above and beyond," said Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby.
"I literally saw him give his jacket to people when they were cold and his gloves to guys that didn't have any," said Nick Carbone, a friend of Northcutt who served with him in the Army. "He was a true, one-of-a-kind person who knew what he wanted and worked hard to get it."
Northcutt was a helicopter mechanic who also enjoyed working on car and truck engines.
"I can't tell you how many tools of his I have because I was like, 'Oh, that's cool,' and he would be like, 'Keep it,'" recalled Carbone.
"His sense of humor and helping others (allowed him) to make friends easily," said Northcutt's mother, Kimberly Northrup.
A police car parked in front of the Carroll County Sheriff's Office remains in place as a memorial to both Northcutt and Rainey. Flowers and cards cover the windshield from a community forever grateful.
Funeral services for Northcutt will be held Monday, Feb. 7 at Soller-Baker Funeral Home at 400 Twyckenham Boulevard in Lafayette. Visitation will start at 11 a.m., followed by a funeral service with military honors at 1 p.m. EST.
Visitation for Rainey will be held at Delphi Community High School from 2 to 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 5. His funeral will be held at the high school on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m. EST.
The school is located at 301 Armory Road in Delphi. The Carroll County Sheriff's Office asks any police officers who plan to attend the service to arrive beginning at 9 a.m. EST Sunday.
Following the funeral service, Rainey will be escorted to IOOF Memorial Gardens in Delphi.