MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Two truck drivers who stopped to help at the scene of a crash along southbound Interstate 81 in Berkeley County were struck and killed by an SUV Thursday morning, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.
Adam T. Miller, 53, of Hagerstown, and Ashish P. Patel, 46, of Ontario, Canada, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said in a news release.
In an email accompanying the release, Sheriff Nathan Harmon said the situation was one of the worst he had seen in his career.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the pedestrians involved within this accident whom, by their own drive to do the right thing and help those in need, sacrificed their lives to help others,” Harmon wrote.He went on to urge caution in similar situations, noting that the need to help others “is ingrained within our God-given moral and ethical fibers as human beings.”
Several Multi-vehicle crashes Thursday morning closed southbound I-81 for about seven hours between the areas of Exit 20 for W.Va. 901 (Spring Mills) and Exit 16 for W.Va. 9 West, authorities said.The fatalities were the result of two separate crashes at the onramp to southbound I-81 from the rest area near the 19.5 mile marker south of Spring Mills, police said.
In the first crash, a southbound Infiniti car went out of control, crossed a grass median and struck a parked tractor-trailer. A southbound Hyundai SUV also went out of control, crossed the median and hit the Infiniti car, wedging it under the trailer, police said in the release.Several motorists stopped to help, including the two deceased truckers. They were on foot when a Nissan Pathfinder SUV also went out of control, crossed the median and struck them and the parked tractor-trailer, the release said.
The driver of the Pathfinder, Jason Hooper, 47, of Martinsburg, was transported from the scene with life-threatening injuries, the release said. His condition was not immediately available.
Investigators believe weather and speed “were significant factors in the incident,” according to the release.
A separate two-vehicle crash in the same location caused no significant damage or injury, the release said.
Agencies responding to the scene with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office included the Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff’s Reserves, the Berkeley County Emergency Ambulance Authority, the Public Service Transportation Enforcement Division, the West Virginia Department of Highways/Transportation, and fire and rescue companies from Bedington, Hedgesville and Williamsport, Md.
An investigation is continuing. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Lt. A. Burns or Cpl. D. Ritchie of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office at 304-267-7000.