DETROIT, MI — A person who stopped to help after a two-vehicle crash on a southeast Michigan highway was killed late Saturday when another vehicle hit them, according to Michigan State Police.
The fatal sequence began after troopers responded to the earlier collision on southbound Michigan Highway 10 near Nine Mile Road around 11:39 p.m. One of the vehicles was left disabled and blocking two lanes.
State police said a motorist later pulled onto the right shoulder, got out of their vehicle and went to help the people involved in the crash. That helper was then struck by a vehicle that swerved while trying to avoid the disabled car.
Disabled vehicle blocked two lanes before the deadly impact
Michigan State Police said the first crash involved two vehicles and left one of them unable to move in the roadway. The disabled vehicle blocked two lanes of traffic on the highway, creating the dangerous scene that followed.
A few minutes after the first collision, another driver stopped on the shoulder and approached the people involved. Investigators said that person had stepped out to assist when the second vehicle veered to avoid the blocking car and hit them.
The crash happened in the southeast part of the state, along a stretch of highway where traffic was already disrupted by the earlier wreck. Police have not released additional details about the people in the first crash or how the original collision occurred.
Life-saving efforts at the scene did not save the victim
Emergency personnel tried to help the person who was struck, but officials said they died at the scene. Michigan State Police described the response as life-saving efforts, though those measures were not enough to prevent the fatal outcome.
The agency has not publicly identified the victim. No additional information about age, hometown or relationship to the people involved in the first crash has been released.
The death turned what had begun as a traffic collision into a much broader emergency on the highway, with responders dealing first with the two-vehicle wreck and then the deadly strike involving the Good Samaritan.
Driver who struck the helper stayed at the scene
According to Michigan State Police, the driver of the vehicle that struck the person assisting at the crash did not flee. That driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
Police did not say whether impairment, speed or other factors may have played a role. They also did not release information about any citations or charges connected to the incident.
Because the driver stayed and cooperated, investigators are continuing to piece together the chain of events from the original two-vehicle crash to the moment the helper was hit on the shoulder-side approach.
Investigation continues into how the chain reaction unfolded
As of Sunday morning, the crash investigation remained active, Michigan State Police said. Troopers were still sorting out the order of events and the movements of the vehicles involved.
The sequence underscores how quickly a routine response to a highway crash can become fatal when traffic lanes remain blocked. In this case, a disabled vehicle in the roadway set off conditions that led to the second collision.
Police have not said when they expect to release additional findings. For now, the focus remains on the circumstances surrounding the two-vehicle crash, the stopped motorist and the vehicle that swerved to avoid the blockage.
Highway crashes can create risks for drivers who stop to help
The fatal incident also highlights the danger faced by motorists who pull over to assist people after a crash on a busy road. Even when a helper is off the travel lanes, nearby traffic can change direction quickly and create new hazards.
Michigan Highway 10 was already obstructed by the disabled vehicle before the second impact occurred. That blocked-lane situation left little margin for error for drivers approaching the scene and for anyone stepping out to help.
Michigan State Police have not described whether traffic control or emergency closures were in place when the helper was struck. The investigation will determine more about how the scene was managed and what happened in the minutes after the first collision.