Martinsburg teen in distress dies after being hit by truck on Interstate 81

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A 15-year-old suicidal Martinsburg boy died last week after running out of his parent's vehicle and being struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 81, according to the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

"This is a tragic event, and our thoughts and prayers go to the family of this male juvenile," Sheriff Rob Blair said in a post on the sheriff's office's Facebook page. "Our deputies handled this investigation with professionalism and compassion. Our police officers unfortunately deal with events such as this all too often, and we will make efforts to ensure that they have the help needed to process what they witnessed."

People struggling with thoughts of suicide, or people who know someone experiencing such struggles, can dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline that operates 24/7. That hotline — 988 — also can be texted, or use the hotline's chat at 988lifeline.org/chat to be connected to a trained counselor, according to the hotline's website and Facebook page.

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Teen ran out of vehicle off I-81 before being struck by truck

Deputies were dispatched around 7:43 p.m. last Wednesday to a suicidal person at the 16 mile marker on I-81, according to the post. While en route, 911 dispatch advised the deputies someone had been hit by a tractor-trailer.

Mile marker 16 is the W.Va. 9 exit.

Upon arriving, deputies rendered aid until emergency medical services got there.

The investigation determined a 15-year-old boy was suicidal and tried to jump from a parent's vehicle while the parent was driving, the post states. The parent pulled off the road to stop the teen, but he ran onto the interstate and was hit by the tractor-trailer.

The boy was taken to Berkeley Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and died shortly after arriving at the hospital, the post states.

The tractor-trailer driver remained on scene, cooperating with the investigation. That driver will not be charged, the post states.