CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – A 21-year-old Port Charlotte man was hit and killed on I-75 in Charlotte County Wednesday night after trying to help others who were involved in a separate crash.
Trevor Smith, 21, a Navy airman was killed in the crash, according to Smith’s girlfriend.
Smith died after a pickup truck veered off the road and hit him while he was trying to help the crash victims, the Florida Highway Patrol said.According to Charlotte County EMS, a car slammed into a semi-truck on I-75 South near Kings Highway around 6:08 p.m.That accident ended against the guardrail of the left lane.Smith, who wasn’t involved in the crash, stopped on the right shoulder of I-75 and ran across the lanes into the median to help. Moments later, while on the shoulder, he was hit and killed by a pickup truck driven by a 31-year-old Bonita Springs man.
The pickup truck crashed into the initial crash site near the left lane.
The driver of the semi-truck was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital with traumatic injuries, according to investigators. Two people inside the car had to be extricated because it was wedged in-between the semi-truck and the pickup truck. They were taken to Fawcett Memorial Hospital.
Southbound lanes of I-75 were shut down before one lane was reopened.
Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the incident.