A highway worker was killed in a hit-and-run on Interstate 66 in Fairfax County, Virginia, Thursday while trying to help people involved in another crash, police said.
Virginia State Police say they are searching for a maroon car that crashed into the worker, 32-year-old Jonathan W. Franzell of Culpeper.
Franzell witnessed two vehicles collide near a highway work zone on eastbound I-66 near exit 60 about 1 a.m., then told his supervisor he was going to check on the drivers, according to police.
He left his work vehicle and ran toward the crash, police said.
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A maroon 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu sped through the work zone, hitting Franzell, police said.
He died at the scene, police said.
One driver involved in the first crash suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, police said.
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The driver of the Malibu left the scene, police said. Debris was left behind, and police say the Malibu lost its driver's side mirror and has damage to the front driver's side.
Working off a tip called in late Thursday, police found the Malibu in a public garage in Fairfax County and seized it as evidence. The car had temporary tags that did not belong to the vehicle, police said.
Police are trying to figure out who was driving the car when it hit Franzell.
Franzell’s girlfriend, Jessica Pullen, told News4 he leaves behind a 2-year-old son, four sisters and a brother. Franzell was killed five years to the day his mother died.
He worked for Area Wide Protective – a firm that does traffic control at worksites – for the past 5 years.
Pullen said Franzell was a caring person so “I understand why he did what he did” when he ran to assist drivers involved in a crash.
“He was my everything,” she said. “I’m going to miss his smile.”
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Virginia State Police at 703-803-0026 or questions@vsp.virginia.gov.
