Good Samaritan Killed While Helping Stranded Driver

A man was killed on Monday afternoon on I-30 in Dallas while assisting a stranded driver.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Office said around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the driver of a white SUV became stranded in the left lane of the highway.

The vehicle was blocking the far left lane and part of the shoulder, according to the sheriff's office.

Several vehicles had to quickly move into another lane to avoid hitting the disabled vehicle.

That's when 42-year-old Ryan Douglas Jaques of Fort Worth stopped to help.

Jaques pulled his semi truck in front of the white SUV and was assisting the stranded driver.

Jaques wanted to attempt to tow the broken-down car with his semi and was in the process of placing a chain on the car.

Investigators said that's when a third driver did not see the SUV stopped in the left lane in time, and hit the SUV, which then hit the semi-truck driver and his truck.

Jaques was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Two other people were also taken to a nearby hospital, but an update on their injuries has not been released.

At this time it appears the crash was a tragic accident, says the sheriff's office.

The driver that hit the stranded motorist is not facing charges at this time.

The sheriff's office would like to remind all motorists that if they should start having car trouble, including a flat, to attempt to drive off the highway.

If that is not possible, it's best to remain in your vehicle and call 911.

Good Samaritans are also encouraged to call 911 instead of getting out to help, because it is dangerous to respond to these types of emergencies even for those with emergency lights on.

"Every day there are accidents involving police cars where people don't see the police cars in time," said Raul Reyna, spokesman for the sheriff's office. "So we'd rather have the emergency vehicles in the way and save lives than a person like what happened yesterday where a person was trying to do the right thing, trying to help somebody and unfortunately it ended up in a tragic accident."