VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- He died doing what he loved. That is what Rick Ulerick's fiancee told WTKR after the photographer was killed taking photos at a weekend truck race on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Ulerick's death, at the Muddin' at the Moose race Easter weekend, was called a "freak accident" by witnesses.
Ulerick, 48, was taking photos of a truck racing through a mud pit at the Exmore Moose Lodge when he was struck by a racing truck, according to Virginia State Police. His death, police said, was being investigated as an accident.
"I lost the love of my life," Ulerick's fiancee Barbara Wright said. "I keep waiting for him to walk in the front door."
The Virginia Beach man had taken photos at mud racing or "mud bogging" events for the past three years. His weekend job took him up and down the East Coast.
"He always put himself out there to get the best shots," friend and racer Phillip Edward Hall Sr. said. "It's hard when you lose somebody like that because he did it tirelessly and he did it for nothing."
Ulerick worked at Hepaco Inc. in Norfolk as a environmental specialist for his full-time job for the past 25 years.
Wright said she was coordinating with Ulerick's family to plan a Celebration of Life. A date for the celebration has not been set yet.
Dennis Anderson's Muddy Motorsports Park posted on Facebook that their next event, the "Spring Sling" on April 29, will be held in Ulerick's honor.
