Man Killed By Hit-And-Run Semi While Putting Gas In Stranded Friend's Car On I-94

GALESBURG, Mich. (WWJ) - Police in west Michigan are searching for a semi-truck that fled the scene after fatally striking a man who was helping a friend that was stranded on eastbound I-94.

The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. Friday near Galesburg, after a woman called the 49-year-old Battle Creek man for help when she ran out of gas. Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas said the woman pulled off to the right side of the road around mile marker 88 and parked her vehicle along the fog line, the solid white lane marker.

"While he was pouring the gas into the vehicle, they both realized that a semi, also eastbound, was pretty close to that fog line," Matyas told WWJ's Beth Fisher. "The girl jumped out of the way into the ditch, but the semi hit him and dragged him about 100 yards and he was pretty much killed instantly."

The female and another passenger were taken to the hospital to be treated for shock; neither were physically harmed.

The man's name has not yet been released.

Matyas says the semi driver did not stop after the collision, and they're still looking for him. The semi is described as a dark cab with a white trailer, with light damage to the passenger side from where it struck the victim and vehicle.

"We want people to look out for this particular semi," said Matyas. "It's a very bad description, but mostly our message goes out to the other truck drivers. The truck drivers are the eyes and ears of the highways and we're hoping that one of them may have heard something and some scuttlebutt about in the trucker industry that might point us to a driver."

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or who has any other information is asked to contact police at 269-383-8821.