Good Samaritan, 19, fatally struck by SUV while helping crash victims
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A woman, 19, was fatally hit when she was checking on motorists involved in a collision on Thursday in San Diego, Calif., reports said. (California Highway Patrol)
A Good Samaritan who stopped to help motorists involved in a collision in San Diego, Calif., was fatally struck by an SUV early Thursday, reports said.
The unidentified woman, 19, was checking on the two-car crash on eastbound state Route 94 around 1:45 a.m. when the SUV, driven by an unidentified 24-year-old man, hit her and sent her body flying onto the westbound side of the highway, Fox 5 San Diego reported. One of the vehicles from the first crash also was struck.
The woman, whom police said may have been struck a second time, died at the scene, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ordeal began when a Honda Civic driven by a 23-year-old woman rear-ended a Mercedes-Benz driven by an 82-year-old woman, the paper reported. The elderly driver lost control and slammed into the center divide, the report said.
Officials said drugs and alcohol were not suspected as factors in the crashes, according to the paper.
“I’m sure that people appreciate Good Samaritans. We appreciate Good Samaritans,” California Highway Patrol Sgt. Sofia Mosqueda said in an interview with San Diego News Video, the paper reported. She said calling 911 “is probably the safest response for everybody.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“You still need to be aware of the danger that the freeway and the occupants of vehicles can pose,” Mosqueda said.
The elderly woman and her passenger, and the male driver of the SUV were taken to local hospitals for minor injuries, officials said, according to the Times of San Diego.