Good Samaritan stops to help at crash and man drives off in her car, Florida cops say

A good Samaritan was left stranded in the dark on a Florida highway when the crash victim she was trying to help took her vehicle, according to investigators.

The accused car thief then wrecked her vehicle just over 3 miles west of the first crash, the Florida Highway Patrol reported in a news release.

He did not survive the second crash.

Investigators said the initial crash happened around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, on State Road 50 in Brooksville, about 70 miles west of Orlando.

“A GMC Sierra, driven by a 29-year-old Dade City man, had been traveling eastbound when the driver lost control and collided with a traffic median barrier,” the Florida Highway Patrol said.

“A passerby, a 35-year-old Webster woman, stopped to assist the driver when a 29-year-old Dade City man arrived on foot and stole the passerby’s vehicle, a Chevy HHR.”

The man was driving her vehicle west on State Road 50 when he lost control, crossed the median into eastbound lanes “and collided head-on with” an oncoming tractor-trailer, officials said.

The suspect was not wearing a seat belt and “suffered fatal injuries.”

A 45-year-old Plant City man was driving the tractor-trailer and he sustained minor injuries, officials said.

Identities of the drivers have not been released.

This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 7:33 AM with the headline "Good Samaritan stops to help at crash and man drives off in her car, Florida cops say."