HASTINGS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Hastings community and fellow tow truck drivers came together Saturday to honor 25-year-old Keagan Spencer, who was hit by a vehicle and killed while stopping to help a dog.

The processional kicked off at 9 a.m. and went down East State Street. Hundreds of trucks arrived with drivers coming from all around the country.

“Keagan looked at me and said, ‘Something ever happens to me, I need you to send me off with a bang,’ and I promised him and that’s what we’re doing,” said Joey Bird, the president of T&J Towing.

The crash happened on Nov. 4 while Spencer was at work. He stopped his tow truck on M-6 near Kraft Avenue and got out of his vehicle to help a dog that was in the median. An eastbound vehicle lost control, went into the median and hit Spencer.

“We’re one giant family, and when one of us goes down, we’re here no matter what,” Bird said. “I hear of tow ops getting killed in the line of duty all the time, but for some reason this one hit a little bit harder, hit close to home, he’s about the same age as my son.”

The trucks headed to Thornapple Valley Church for Spencer’s funeral.

“We all walk out the door and we don’t know if we are going to come home to our family at the end of the day. And it’s really hard for all of us out here,” Bird said. “It’s sad and scary. We’re just trying to push that people will slow down and move over for us, hopefully this opens the eyes of Michigan.”

The investigation is still ongoing. Anyone who saw the crash is asked to contact MSP at 616.866.4411.

~News 8 reporter Elena Cousino contributed.