Driver Charged with Hit-and-Run after Tow Truck Driver Killed
On behalf of Brown & Crouppen, P.C. posted in Motor Vehicle Accident on Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A tow truck driver who was trying to help a motorist stranded on Interstate 70 in St. Louis was struck and killed by a speeding driver, authorities say. The driver allegedly fled the scene, but police officers captured and arrested him. The victim of the hit and run accident was 51 years old.
The victim, a resident of St. Louis, began working for AAA in December. The evening of April 16, he responded to a call about a car stuck on eastbound I-80. He was putting down flares around where the car was around 9:20 p.m. when a white car struck him.
The car drove off, police say, but they detained him a short time later. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, has been charged with hit and run.
Though the victim had only been a tow truck driver for a few months, his wife said that he followed his AAA safety training. Besides the road flares, he was wearing a safety vest to make himself more visible to traffic. He had remarked several times that drivers on the road were not always careful around him while he was working, his wife said.
This story is a tragic example of what can happen when drivers fail to slow down when there is a vehicle on the shoulder, especially a tow truck. The driver is likely working nearby, and motorists who are going too fast can lose control and strike him or her. A serious accident is the likely result.
The victim is survived by his wife and adult son.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Man charged in hit-and-run crash that killed tow truck driver from St. Louis,” Kim Bell, April 18, 2012