FORT PIERCE, Fla. — More than a week after a deadly fire at a Fort Pierce motorcycle repair shop, friends and family gathered once again Thursday to honor a life they said was taken too soon.
The body of a master mechanic was found Feb. 17 inside Fast Frank's Cycle Concepts.
Loved ones said the man who died inside the burned-out business was Richard Benson and that he will never be replaced.
"It's tough for me to sit here, but he was a great man," said Dannie Moore, who knew Benson for 18 years. "More than brothers, really."
Moore said Benson was a great bike mechanic and an even better man and father.
"If you were his friend, you were a lifetime friend," said Moore.
Moore and several others gathered Thursday to honor Benson's life.
"If it was broke and he couldn't fix it, it couldn't be fixed," said friend Bud Smith.
At the vigil, those who knew Benson shared memories and lit candle balloons.
"It's a shame," said Moore. "He was a major player in the biker industry. He had been a major player for years."
Moore said the shop will now have to close.
"He was one in a million as far as a mechanic," said Moore. "He was one in a million as far as a person."
The investigation is still ongoing.