A man killed as he was assisting victims of a car crash on Interstate 20 in Arlington was identified Monday as a 23-year-old Marine reservist from Dallas.
Alvaro "Al" Rios was fatally struck by a vehicle at about 6:15 a.m. Sunday after he and a friend stopped to help the passengers in three vehicles that had been involved in a wreck on westbound I-20 between Collins Street and Matlock Road.
"He ran and got a young lady out of the black car and took her to the shoulder," said Patrick Ward, a witness.
A man who swerved around the vehicles to avoid the collision hit Rios in the process, police said. Investigators said the driver simply wasn't able to see Rios in the predawn darkness and will not face any charges.
A man and a woman who was involved in the collision were taken to a Fort Worth hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Alvaro, a husband and father of a 13-month old boy, was assigned to the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234 at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth.
"He was just a great man, a hero, always helping out everybody," said Dennis Zuleta, his brother-In-Law. "He saw something wrong, he stopped and helped."
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Alvara had been an aircraft engine mechanic at NASJRB for five years and was studying to become an electrician. He would have been promoted to corporal in October.
"I would call him a hero," said Lt. Colonel Javier, a commanding officer with the U.S. Marines. "This is typical, what we see in our Marines, the honor, the courage, the selflessness."
