An act of kindness on a busy Texas roadway ended in tragedy on the evening of January 19, 2026, when 71-year-old Michael Wayne King stopped to help a stranded motorist in Hopkins County. King, a resident of Mena, Arkansas, had pulled over on Interstate 30 after noticing a woman with a flat tire. He retrieved a spare tire, intending to assist her by carrying it across the south frontage road to reach her vehicle parked on the interstate shoulder.
Around 6:45 p.m., as dusk settled over the area, King attempted to cross the south frontage road near mile marker 118, east of Sulphur Springs in Hopkins County, Texas. A westbound pickup truck struck him directly while he carried the tire, delivering fatal force in this rural stretch parallel to the main highway lanes.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers responded promptly to the scene on the Interstate 30 south frontage road near mile marker 118. Emergency personnel confirmed the severity of King’s injuries and pronounced him dead on site, with no opportunity for hospital transport given the immediate lethality of the impact.
The driver of the pickup truck remained at the location and cooperated with arriving authorities, reporting no injuries to themselves or other motorists involved. This detail distinguished the incident as a single-vehicle pedestrian strike amid typical evening traffic on the frontage road serving local access to I-30.
The ongoing Texas DPS investigation examines visibility factors in the early evening hours, roadway conditions, and the precise dynamics of King’s crossing attempt at this specific point east of Sulphur Springs, where frontage roads facilitate service to the interstate but pose risks for pedestrians without designated crossings.
Michael Wayne King’s selfless effort to aid another traveler underscores the unpredictable dangers on roadways like the Interstate 30 south frontage road near mile marker 118 in Hopkins County, Texas, leaving a family in Arkansas to mourn a man remembered for his willingness to help others in need.