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A selfless nurse was killed in a horror car crash after she decided to help strangers on a California highway following a night shift.
Nereida Benitez, who was known as 'Nedi' to her loved ones, had just wrapped up her shift at San Diego's Sharp Memorial Hospital on June 11 when she spotted a crash on Interstate 15 in La Mesa, ABC10 reported.
She paused her ride home to Temecula when a Toyota minivan was rear-ended by a Honda CR-V, sending the van flying into the median, the California Highway Patrol told the outlet.
After seeing the aftermath of the collision, the beloved emergency room nurse, 40, and another good Samaritan, Chad Tillman, a 54-year-old Marine veteran, pulled over to help out.
But as the two of them stood on the driver's side of the Honda, driven by Jake Lopez Lawrence, 21, another car slammed into the CR-V, killing Benitez and Tillman.
Both of them died at the scene. Lawrence was arrested on DUI charges and a vehicular manslaughter charge.
Benitez has been remembered as a loving person who lit up every room she walked into.
'We could always tell, even though we had to wear masks … you could always tell her big, beautiful smile. So that is Nedi. Her beautiful smile and her way of just shining that positive light and energy to everybody,' nursing manager Tania Jones wrote in an online tribute.
Nereida Benitez, 40, died on June 11, after she stopped on the side of Interstate 15 to help after two cars crashed into each other
Jones told ABC10 how shocked she was to hear that Benitez had died in the crash.
'Your heart sinking down to the pit of your stomach. That’s how I felt,' she recalled. It's been like a shock that one of us is gone, because we've become family.'
But she said it was no surprise to her that Benitez risked her life on a dark highway to help a stranger out.
'She's a nurse, always caring and compassionate. That's how we should remember Nedi. That's how she would have wanted it,' Jones added.
Just weeks before her untimely death, Benitez had enlisted in the Air Force, as she always dreamed of being a trauma flight nurse, according to her obituary.
She leaves behind a husband, Emilio, and countless family members and friends.
Tillman's family has remembered him as a man who 'grew up with a spirit of duty and compassion that would define every chapter of his life,' his obituary read.
He entered the US Marine Corps after high school, where he served his country for 12 years.
Tillman then became a truck driver who loved to spend time with his wife and kids when he was not on the road.
Another good Samaritan, Chad Tillman, a 54-year-old Marine veteran, pulled over to help out alongside Benitez. He was also killed
Just weeks before her untimely death, Benitez (right) had enlisted in the Air Force, as she always dreamed of being a trauma flight nurse, according to her obituary
A GoFundMe page has since been launched in honor of Tillman.
A service for Benitez is set for June 18 from 11am to 7pm. A memorial service for Tillman is scheduled for June 24.
Lawrence was booked into the Vista Detention Facility after his arrest. He will be arraigned on Thursday.
The Daily Mail contacted the California Highway Patrol and Sharp Memorial Hospital for comment.
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