A woman was struck by a pickup truck and killed after she stopped her car and ran across Interstate 70 to help another motorist whose vehicle had rolled.
Christina G. Sterling-Soffel, 28, was heading west on the highway in Mesa County this morning when she saw a pickup truck pulling a trailer run off the road after a tire blew out, said Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Aaron Laing.
“He ended up losing control, and he rolled his vehicle,” Laing said.
The woman stopped on the right shoulder to see whether the driver of the pickup needed medical assistance. She crossed two lanes of traffic safely.
As she crossed the road to return to her car, she was struck by a 2001 Dodge Ram driven by Jack D. Vanhoose, 69, who was passing a tractor-trailer.
The driver of the pickup and trailer walked away from the accident, Laing said.
Sterling-Soffel meant to be helpful, Laing said, but she should not have crossed the road. “We would normally ask people to stay in their vehicles and make a phone call. People don’t realize the speed vehicles are traveling on the interstate.”
At 75 mph, he added, a car is moving at about 175 feet per second.
Vanhoose skidded for about 148 feet before hitting her.
