Fort Worth police say a 17-year-old who stopped to help after a car accident on Interstate 35 was killed after being hit by a driver suspected of intoxicated driving.
Joshua Kaluzniak, of Grandview, was one of several passers-by who stopped to help early Sunday morning after an abandoned vehicle was struck by a Jeep, police said.
Police said the teen was on the shoulder of the interstate trying to wave passing vehicles out of the way when a vehicle hit him. Kaluzniak then fell onto the street below the overpass.
The 43-year-old driver of the vehicle that hit him was arrested and booked into city jail on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.
Grandview Independent School District Superintendent Joe Perrin said he was not surprised to learn that Kaluzniak died helping others.
"He's a real good kid -- one of the kids always helping somebody," he said.
Perrin, who was Kaluzniak's high school principal before becoming superintendent this fall, said the teenager was "always positive, always happy [and] liked to be helping others."
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He said the loss is difficult for students and teachers.
"We're taking one day at a time," he said. "It's a tough day for me, too, to be honest."
Counselors were at Grandview High School on Monday to help students grieving Kaluzniak's death.
"We met as an administration and came up with the plan to have extra counselors here from surrounding districts," Perrin said. "We have rooms set aside in the high school for students to meet with counselors."
Kaluzniak was a senior in a class of about 90 students. Grandview High has 380 students in total.
Perrin said Kaluzniak has been the third Grandview High student to die since the summer.
The family is still working on funeral arrangements, Perrin said.
