FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — After a Spotsylvania County man was killed in an industrial accident last Thursday, his fiancée and her mom reflect on the "great guy" they lost.
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff said they found 28-year-old Brandon Nutter dead in an industrialized stationary compactor the morning of July 7 at the Chancellor Convenience Center in Fredericksburg.
He had just started his job as a heavy equipment mechanic with the Solid Waste Collections Division a few weeks prior.
“He truly just lived life and he was just -- the minute you met him. You loved him," Sherri Weaver said.
Her daughter, Chelsy Manning, was set to marry Nutter next year.
She says that instant connection and love certainly happened for her daughter.
“Their first date she knew -- and he knew," Weaver said. "And it was just a love that...it was unbelievable to just see.”
Weaver said he had only recently taken his new job with the county to be closer to home with Manning.
For close to a decade, Nutter's family said he had worked at Washington Gas, always keeping up with safety trainings.
Weaver said he was born in the Alexandria area but moved to Fredericksburg with his family in 2005, where he built his life. He recently bought a dream home with her daughter on Lake Anna in 2019.
In a note her mother shared, Manning wrote about Nutter: "Brandon was the most amazing human I could have crossed paths with. He is the love of my life. He's the most spontaneous person; never loved plans, we lived in the moment. He was just himself at all times, goofy, fun, loving, lively. He brought me into a world of adventure and how to just enjoy life. Don't work to live; work, and have fun. We built a life in a short time, but it felt like a lifetime."
Her mom said he loved their dogs and mountain biking and the lake.
“So grateful that he loved my daughter the way he did," she said. "Just really was a great guy."
Weaver said they will always remember Nutter by his motto: "Work hard. Have fun. Party on."
Since the accident, the community has rallied around the couple and their families.
Fire Escape Food Truck organized an event in Nutter's honor -- and other small businesses have signed on.
It will be held on Monday, July 18 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Harrison Road Elementary School located at 6230 Harrison Rd, Fredericksburg, VA 22407.
All proceeds will go to Nutter's fiancée, because her mom said he was her sole supporter.
The sheriff's office is working with the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Department to investigate what caused the accident.
Nutter's memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at Spotswood Baptist Church. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Internment will be private.