"A motorist who stopped yesterday to help at a fatal accident in Lancaster County was hit by a pickup and killed as he apparently tried to remove a tree from the roadway.

State police said the motorist, Michael C. Tapscott, 47, of Kilmarnock was killed about 6:45 a.m., just after the driver of a Mini Cooper hit a tree and plunged down an embankment on state Route 3, about a mile west of state Route 600.

A passenger in the Mini Cooper, Ewell E. Pittman III, 51, of White Stone was thrown through the car's window and killed when the car hit the tree, state police Sgt. Kevin A. Barrick said last night.

Barrick said Tapscott went down the embankment to check on the car's occupants and climbed back up the embankment.

A tree sheared off in the wreck was blocking the roadway, Barrick said.

He said Tapscott apparently was trying to remove the tree when the pickup truck hit him. The pickup truck's driver said he did not see Tapscott, according to Barrick.

The Mini Cooper's driver, who was injured in the wreck, was charged with reckless driving, Barrick said.

He said the driver was treated at a local hospital."

 

That's really terrible...Is there a NAMer out there who will need some support?

 

Any time I see "was thrown through the car's window," I know the seatbelt wasn't fastened.

 

That's sad...

 

Seatbelts, folks. Always.

 

 

Very sad reading stories like this...

Donna

 

Sad. Hate to say it but I know quite a few MINI-motorers who seriously need to slow down!!

 

Very sad indeed. I agree, there is no excuse for not wearing your seatbelt.

That said, it is a positive to see that the mini can protect the driver after going down a slope and hitting a tree.

 

I feel so sorry for that good Samaritan & his family. Such a loss.

 

This is sad for all involved. Good samaritan dies. Somebody isn't wearing a seatbelt.

But for MINI land, worst of all ... "reckless driving" .... I just hope this wasn't a twisty road where the MINI driver wasn't trying to prove something ... because that would be a tragedy

 

Two lost lives is a tragedy. Both of them caused by the driver of that car. Very sad stuff.

 

man, rest in peace, real sad

 

Its always sad to hear stuff like this. Especially in the Mini World. =(

 

Horrible, sad story. Whenever I read something like this, it makes you slow down (even if you drive moderately slow anyway) for about a month just thinking about it.

 

Sooooo sad. :( Buckle up. Drive safe.

 

Simply have to wear the belts at all times....very sad

 

Seatbelts are a must, of course.

This has truly saddened me. Just like the story I heard on the news this morning about a floor mat that slipped up and blocked the brake pedal and killed a lady and her two kids. No, it wasn't a MINI, but today was full of sad stories...

I hope that good samiritan doesn't have a negative view of all MINI drivers now...

 

Ugh. A lot of lives affected in this accident. Those killed, of course. Their friends and family. The driver, who maybe suffers the worst fate of all... living with the fact he's responsible for the lives of two innocent people. Rough.

 

Well i didn't mean to make everyone so sad, but i read the headline and thought it was sad he was killed for helping, but then i thought that's terrible it was a MINI, and worse, that someone died in a MINI accident. I guess these things happen, but it's really, really sad all that happened. The car hitting a tree and flying down an embankment, the passenger being killed, the good saaritan being killed, and the driver of the mini and the driver of the truck have to live with it, as does all their families.

I was worried i would have known them, but i don't know anyone in lancaster county.

 

I guess the answer is to be careful out there. Both in & out of your car. I keep a couple of road flares in all my cars. My best guess is a couple of them might have saved that good Samaritan.

Short Bus don't feel bad about posting this. It's a heads up for all of us.

 

Sorry to hear that