Connelly Springs, N.C : Good Samaritan killed, woman injured in SUV strike on wednesday night, May 28, 2014
Connellys Springs, North Carolina
State troopers have charged a man with DWI after a good Samaritan was killed trying to help a woman whose truck broke down in Burke County on Wednesday night.
Deputies said 42-year-old Lorrine Vaughn's truck broke down on N.C. 18 South around 10:30 p.m.
Neighbors told Channel 9 the impact was so loud that they had to come out of their homes to see what had happened.
They said Vaughn was driving a truck which ran out of gas along the highway and that a nearby resident, 49-year-old David Anderson was helping her refuel when the driver of an SUV, 43-year-old Conan Hunt, slammed into them and her truck.
The Highway Patrol said the Good Samaritan was knocked more than 80 feet while trying to help a woman who ran out of gas.
One neighbor said Vaughn frantic after the crash.
“She just kept hollering, ‘I can't find him, I can't find him.’ And I didn't know who she was talking about and so I came back down here and told my husband,” said Beverly Gibson.
“It broke everybody's heart. There's been so many people here, it's a shame this morning,” said Alvin Hill.
Police said Anderson was killed instantly and that Vaughn was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
"He always liked helping people we all do. That's what we were brought up to do. Because we are helpers. We are stewards,” said Anderson’s sister Paula Johnson.
Investigators said Vaughn's car was partially in the roadway but her emergency flashers were on at the time of the crash. She was airlifted to Carolina's Medical Center in Charlotte.
Johnson said her brother died four years to the day that their mother passed away.
She said she is forgiving Hunt.
"Yes, I forgive him. Because God said if we can't forgive, he won't forgive us,” Johnson said.
Hunt was charged with DWI and driving with a revoked license.
One of the investigators on this case said the district attorney will decide on any further charges.
Source :
Driver charged with DWI after good Samaritan killed