A man standing outside his disabled vehicle on a Pennsylvania interstate exit ramp was fatally struck by a dying driver who lost control of his minivan when he was shot.
Joshua Waltz, 33, was standing near the rear bumper of his 2010 Chevrolet Malibu on the shoulder of the I-95 ramp leading to I-476 in Ridley Township when he was struck just before 10 p.m. Friday night, KYW-TV reported.
Clinton Martin, 29, suffering from a gunshot wound, careened along the shoulder before slamming into Waltz with his 2010 Mazda5.
State troopers responding to a passerby’s report of a crash arrived at the scene to find Martin dead behind the wheel and Waltz dead beneath his car.
Police have not yet determined exactly when or where Martin was shot but have determined he hit a concrete barrier guiderail on the right shoulder and kept going for about a quarter mile before crashing into Waltz, KYW reported.
Martin’s loved ones can’t fathom why he would have been targeted. His girlfriend, Aleah Wilson, told WCAU-TV he was a hard-working man with a “heart of gold.”
Martin managed a Dollar General store and was a loving father figure to her five children, Wilson said. “I planned to grow old with this man,” she told the station.
Martin’s mother speculated road rage could have played a role.
“I’m heartbroken. I can’t believe somebody took my son. I’m mad. I’m hurt and I’m mad,” Constance Newton told WCAU. “He drives fast. I think he got under somebody’s skin and they didn’t like it.”
Cops are investigating the shooting as a homicide and have asked the public for help in determining what led up to the fatal incident, including dash-cam footage or any other video that might have caught parts of what happened.