ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. _ Three pedestrians tending to a wrecked car were killed Sunday in St. Francois County when a Jeep lost control on the Big River Bridge and hit the pedestrians.
The Missouri Highway Patrol said Joseph D. Reddick II, Heather J. Rusan and Paden S. Sorbello were killed about 5 p.m. Sunday on southbound Highway 67, near Cash Lane. All three victims lived in Bonne Terre.
Reddick and Rusan were the good Samaritans who stopped to help the stranded motorist, Sorbello, after his 2004 Chevrolet Malibu slid off the bridge and crashed into a median, said St. Francois County Coroner Jim Coplin.
All three were standing on the grass in the median of the highway when they were hit by the Jeep as it was overturning, Coplin said.
Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said the bridge had been icy.
As Reddick, Rusan and Sorbello were standing outside Sorbello's vehicle, a 2005 Jeep Liberty heading south on the highway lost control on the bridge. The Jeep slid off the left side of the highway and hit the front of the Malibu that had crashed earlier. The Jeep then hit a cable barrier and overturned, hitting all three pedestrians.
Reddick, 43, and Rusan, 39, and Sorbello, 23, were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The man driving the Jeep is 53 years old and lives in Festus. Police said he suffered minor injuries. He was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said. He was treated at the scene.
Thompson said the Jeep's driver was not arrested after the crash, adding that the man showed no signs of intoxication but was driving too fast for conditions.
Thompson said the crash was weather-related. There had been some freezing rain in the area and the roads were partly ice-covered, and bridges are prone to freeze faster, he said. The Malibu and the Jeep both had lost control on the bridge and slid off the bridge into a median.
Shyla Scott has set up a gofundme to help raise money for funeral expenses. Scott said she is the daughter of Rusan. Scott said Rusan and Reddick were dating and had stopped to help the stranded motorist. Relatives of Sorbello could not be reached for comment.
