{"id":3163,"date":"2026-06-17T22:01:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T05:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/community-mourns-good-samaritans-killed-while-helping-at-a-crash-site-on-interstate-15\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T05:01:42","slug":"community-mourns-good-samaritans-killed-while-helping-at-a-crash-site-on-interstate-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/community-mourns-good-samaritans-killed-while-helping-at-a-crash-site-on-interstate-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Community mourns good Samaritans killed while helping at a crash site on Interstate 15"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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Nereida \u201cNedi\u201d Benitez was a nurse at Sharp Memorial who lived in Temecula. Gary \u201cChad\u201d Tillman was a Fallbrook resident who drove big rig trucks.<\/p>\n

Read more Photos: Zac Brown Band performs on the USS Midway<\/a><\/p>\n

Both happened to be driving on Interstate 15 last Thursday when they came upon a crash. Each pulled over to help, performing a selfless act that ultimately ended in their deaths when they were struck by another vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a nurse, and that\u2019s what nurses do,\u201d said Benitez\u2019s friend and former co-worker Tania Jones. \u201cThis was definitely Nedi, and she would do it all over again, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends and family are mourning the loss of the two good Samaritans but taking solace in how the two used their final moments to help a stranger.<\/p>\n

Benitez, 40, and Tillman, 54, pulled over on the freeway north of state Route 76 around 4:10 a.m. to help the driver of a Honda CR-V, which had run into the back of a Toyota Sienna in one of the middle lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CR-V driver was allegedly intoxicated, the CHP said.<\/p>\n

The two reportedly exited their vehicles and went to the driver\u2019s side of the CR-V when a driver in a Honda Civic struck the passenger side of the vehicle. The impact killed Benitez and Tillman.<\/p>\n

Jones said she first met Benitez when they worked together at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in one of the COVID units. Despite the dangerous conditions, Jones said the two grew close.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could even tell, even under the masks we were wearing, that she was always smiling; that\u2019s one thing about Nedi: her big, beautiful smile,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWhat you see in all the photos is her positive light and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Jones said Benitez wanted to eventually make the change over to the emergency room, and \u2014 due to the relationship they built during the pandemic \u2014 Jones said she and the other nurses helped Benitez take that step in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always very much dedicated to her patients at work and would give you the shirt off her back or be running behind you saying: \u2018Hey, let me help you,\u2019\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Read more Vial seized from Millete home tested positive for deadly poison, according to trial testimony<\/a><\/p>\n

Joshua McCabe, director of emergency services at Sharp Memorial Hospital, said the staff\u2019s thoughts and prayers were with Benitez\u2019s husband, son and entire family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire team at Sharp HealthCare is heartbroken by this tragedy,\u201d McCabe said in a statement. \u201cNedi was a compassionate and dedicated nurse whose commitment to caring for others left a lasting impact on her colleagues, patients, and the community. She will be deeply missed by all who had the honor of knowing her and the privilege of working beside her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Jones said it was very much in character for her friend to want to help others, even at the risk of her own safety.<\/p>\n

The same can be said for Tillman, according to an obituary posted online.<\/p>\n

Tillman was born in Savannah, Ga., and served 12 years in the Marine Corps before becoming a truck driver, according to the obituary.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing his military career, Chad found his next calling behind the wheel as a truck driver, a profession that suited his love of big rigs and the open road,\u201d the obituary said.<\/p>\n

Tillman was remembered for being a devoted husband and a loving father to three daughters and a stepdaughter, and as an avid Padres fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis family was the center of his world, and he poured his heart into every moment spent with them,\u201d the obituary read.<\/p>\n

His family took comfort in knowing his final act \u201creflected the kind of man he truly was: one who gave of himself so that others might be safe,\u201d the obituary said.<\/p>\n

Nearly $15,000 has been raised for his family as of Wednesday in a GoFundMe campaign.<\/p>\n

Read more Parents sentenced in baby\u2019s starvation and neglect death<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nereida Benitez, 40, and Gary Chadwick Tillman, 54, died while helping at a car crash scene last week on Interstate 15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety"],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity mourns good Samaritans killed while helping at a crash site on Interstate 15 - Los Angeles Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/community-mourns-good-samaritans-killed-while-helping-at-a-crash-site-on-interstate-15\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community mourns good Samaritans killed while helping at a crash site on Interstate 15 - 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