Good Samaritan killed trying to cross interstate

A woman who stopped to assist at a traffic accident near Topeka was killed Sunday when a passing truck trailer struck the 21-year-old.

By

State News

December 8, 2021 - 10:01 AM

An Alaska woman who got out of her vehicle to try to help at the scene of a rollover crash in northeastern Kansas died after she was hit by a semitrailer, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

The crash happened Sunday afternoon on Interstate 70 in western Shawnee County, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal. Investigators said Autumn Johnson, 21, of Wasilla, Alaska, was westbound on the interstate when she pulled over on the right shoulder near the crash scene, ran through traffic toward a car crashed in the grassy median and was hit by the semi.

Johnson was rushed to a Topeka hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The 37-year-old man driving the semi said he was unable to stop or switch lanes because of traffic.

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