By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
The driver of a big-rig truck who stopped to assist at an accident scene near Blue Canyon died this morning when he was struck by another vehicle that slid off an icy Interstate 80.
Officer Todd Kettwig of the California Highway Patrol said the driver of a Jeep Cherokee was eastbound on Interstate 80 just west of Blue Canyon about 6:50 a.m. when he encountered ice and lost control of the vehicle.
The Jeep slid across the highway and down the northern embankment at the highway median.
The driver was able to get out of the vehicle and climb to the highway where a California State Department of Transportation employee had stopped. The driver of a big rig also stopped to assist, parking on the side of the highway and walking across to the median.
While the big-rig driver was standing on the median, the driver of a Ford truck lost control. The truck slid across the highway and struck the big-rig driver.
A third vehicle also encountered ice and slid across the roadway at the same location, Kettwig said.
The big-rig driver was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The man's identity and details on the condition of drivers of the three vehicles involved in the collisions were not immediately available.
Kettwig said traffic on eastbound Interstate 80 was held until about 9 a.m.
He urged drivers traveling in the early morning hours following periods of low temperatures to reduce their speeds and wear their seatbelts, recognizing that icy conditions can occur anywhere.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
KTXL: Good Samaritan killed in accident On I-80
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