Patrick died when the fire engine he was riding on was en route to fire alarm Box 412. The apparatus was traveling south on Sabine crossing Lubbock Street. At this point, the street intersects at an offset position. Because of this, the fire engine had to make a sharp turn in order to continue through on Sabine. When this was done, the rear wheels hit a twelve-inch hole where the street bricks were missing. At this time O’Hare was attempting to put his fire coat on. He was knocked off balance from a sudden lurch of the fire engine and was thrown off against a telephone pole. He was killed instantly.