The man who was struck and killed as he was picking up debris from a crash on a Tulare County highway has been identified.
Family members have identified him as 50-year-old Marin Apodaca of Cutler. They say he was trying to help someone who had just been in a car crash moments before.
The California Highway Patrol says the crash happened just before 6 a.m. Friday on Highway 63 and Avenue 392, just south of Cutler.
A truck was going southbound on Highway 63 when the driver stopped to turn left and was rear-ended by another car.
Officers say a man, now identified as Apodaca, stopped to help clear the road of crash debris and was hit by a passing 2016 Toyota. He died at the scene.
Family members confirmed that Apodaca was on his way to work with his wife and had stopped to pick up plywood off the highway.
Investigators say the driver of the Toyota did not see the man on the roadway.
“The driver of the Toyota stayed on the scene and administered CPR on the pedestrian. No alcohol and or drugs seemed to be involved,” says Officer Baker with the California Highway Patrol.