Alan Thicke was joking, gave thumbs up on way to the hospital (Video)

We're learning more about the tragic passing of Alan Thicke on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and witnesses are recalling that he was conscious and joking on the way to the hospital.

ET spoke with Darin Mathewson, who made the 911 call and is the vice president of Pickwick Gardens where Thicke was playing ice hockey with his son before collapsing on the rink.

"I was in my office [and] probably in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game, these guys came running in and said, 'Hey. call 911. We got a guy down.' So I called immediately and went out there," Mathewson told the news outlet. "In Burbank, the EMTs and the ambulance services are really fast, within a few minutes, and by the time I got out there, they were coming in."

Mathewson also said that he did not know the man was Thicke until the EMTs sat him up. According to Mathewson, Thicke was coherent and joking with his son, Carter, about taking a picture of him as he was being transported to the hospital, telling him get the rink in the background.

"He had Carter take a picture of him, and said, 'Make sure you get the rink in the background' as they were taking him out of here," he added. "When he went by us, he gave us the thumbs up, like, 'I'm doing good guys, I'm good.'"

Mathewson said that everyone at Pickwick Gardens knew Thicke and is very shocked and saddened by his passing.

Friends and family members including Thicke's sons, Carter and singer Robin Thicke, took to social media to pay tribute to the actor.

A photo posted by Robin Thicke (@robinthicke) on

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