A 21-year-old Villa Ridge man was helping his father when he was stuck and killed by a tractor-trailer in St. Louis County just before 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Cpl. Dallas Thompson, spokesperson for the highway patrol, said Noah Goodwin was riding a motorcycle eastbound on Interstate 44 behind his father, Ryan Goodwin, 43, who was in a pickup truck when the father stopped in the roadway just east of Eureka. Thompson said the highway patrol doesn’t know why he stopped there and that there was a shoulder, but he didn’t pull into it.
“Not sure if he broke down or something disabled the vehicle,” Thompson said “We’re just not sure why he stopped where he did.”
Noah pulled over and hopped off his motorcycle to help his father, Thompson said, before an 18-wheeler driven by Manuel Benavides, 54, struck the pickup. Noah tried to evade the 18-wheeler, but was still hit, he said.
Noah was pronounced dead on the scene and Ryan suffered serious injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital St. Louis by Eureka Fire Protection District, according to the highway patrol report.
The tractor-trailer continued eastbound and overturned, Thompson said.
Thompson said Ryan Goodwin was in critical condition when he was taken to the hospital and is still there.
“We do expect him to survive,” he said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer did not suffer any injuries, according to the report.
The highway patrol is conducting an investigation and working on a crash reconstruction where they will examine both vehicles, all physical evidence at the scene and witness testimony.
Authorities do not suspect foul play. Thompson said that “right now there’s no evidence to indicate that it was” a result of distracted driving.
Thompson reminded drivers that if your car breaks down, is involved in a crash or is otherwise incapacitated, you should try to get it off the roadway as much as possible and call authorities. If you cannot get the vehicle off the road, he suggested getting out of the vehicle and getting to the shoulder.
“This is a hard reminder of how dangerous highways can be, especially busy interstates,” he said. “It’s just a tragic story here.”
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