Glen Cove man struck and killed by car in Connecticut, police say

A January graduate of Glen Cove High School was killed early Saturday when he was struck by a car while trying to help a driver stranded on the side of the road, Connecticut State Police said Sunday.

Derian Garaicoa-Ortega, 18, had pulled over to help a stranded driver on southbound Interstate 95 just north of Exit 6 in Stamford, Connecticut, when he was struck, state police said.

His family could not be reached Sunday, but a spokeswoman for the Glen Cove school district said grief counselors would be made available at the school as needed.

Five other people, including a woman from Wyandanch, suffered minor injuries.

Garaicoa-Ortega and several people from the vehicles involved had stopped, and as they were standing on the roadside, another vehicle veered into the disabled car, according to the accident report and state police.

According to the report, Garaicoa-Ortega's car had stopped in the right shoulder directly in front of the stranded car, which was involved in an earlier accident, to help. Another car with three passengers also stopped to help.

Then, according to the report, the fourth car struck the stranded vehicle, which hit Garaicoa-Ortega and his car. His passenger and others also were struck.

The driver of the fourth vehicle stopped after the crash. Garaicoa-Ortega was taken to Stamford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, state police said.

Police interviewed the driver who struck the stranded car, but had not filed charges Sunday. That driver was not identified and the crash remains under investigation, police said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.com,scott.eidler@newsday.comJohnAsbury,

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.