Crime & Safety

I-78 Fatal: Man Who Stopped to Help Hit and Killed by SUV

A vehicle hit and killed an Ohio man on Interstate 78 in Upper Macungie Township on Wednesday night

An Ohio motorist who got out of his car to try to help someone with a disabled vehicle during Wednesday's snow and ice storm was struck and killed on Interstate 78.

Richard Helms, 60, of 2065 W. Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, at 10:31 p.m., according to a press release from the Lehigh County coroner. The cause of death has been ruled multiple blunt force trauma and the manner of death an accident.

A GMC Yukon driven by a Connecticut woman spun out of control and hit Helms, according to a Lehigh Valley Live report.

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State police are investigating.

This is at least the third I-78 accident in which a pedestrian was killed this year in Lehigh County.

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  • In September, a Dorney Park worker was hit and killed at an I-78 interchange near Allentown.
  • A 54-year-old man who was standing outside his tractor trailer was struck and killed in October in Upper Macungie.

Also, a boy was hit by an SUV and killed while trick or treating in October.


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