Good Samaritan dies after hit by car on I-5

CHEHALIS, Wash. (AP) — A good Samaritan who stopped on Interstate 5 to help the driver of a broken down SUV has died after he was hit by another car.

The Washington State Patrol says 39-year-old Miguel Mendez was helping to push the SUV to the right shoulder of the highway south of Chehalis when he was struck Thursday afternoon.

The Daily News of Longview reports the SUV had broken down and stopped on the left shoulder of I-5.

A 23-year-old driver from Redmond, Washington, hit Mendez and the back of the SUV, thrusting the vehicle into a ditch. That man was taken to a local hospital with undisclosed injuries.

The accident at about 12:40 p.m. closed northbound traffic for three hours.