A father of five was killed when he stopped to help a driver who ran out of gas on a Zephyrhills highway Monday night.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 29-year-old Jason Tyler Hiscock was on a 1998 Suzuki ATV attempting to tow a Ford Ranger pickup truck when the accident happened on U.S. 301 around 10:30 p.m. Monday.
As Hiscock moved into the left turn lane to make a left onto Central Avenue, the tow strap connecting the vehicles stretched across U.S. 301. A tractor trailer traveling south on U.S. 301 then ran into the strap, causing the ATV to eject Hiscock and overturn.
Hiscock, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, troopers said. With the tow line severed, the person inside the Ranger rolled to pump No. 2 at the Circle K, pumped gas and drove off.
Hiscock's loved ones are in shock.
"I don’t see how you can just leave like that, just gone," said Peggy Berfield, the victim’s girlfriend of six years. "And now he’s just gone and he’s not coming back and he’s just gone.”
The driver of the tractor-trailer, 45-year-old Jose Alejandro Santos Maza, 45, of St. Petersburg was not injured.
Investigators are asking to interview Arthur Dwayne Mosley, 53, and Michelle Ann Braxton, 47, both of Zephyrhills, as they were identified at the scene of the crash and may have information.
Investigators are asking that anyone with information to contact the FHP at 813-631-4020.