A 37-year-old roadside recovery mechanic was killed while helping a stranded motorist on the A11 dual carriageway in Norfolk, police said, and a teenage driver has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.
Norfolk Police said the man, identified by family and friends as Ryan Balls, was struck by a black Ford Puma ST on Sunday around midday near Besthorpe, about 15 miles from Norwich. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended but the man was declared dead at the scene.
Ryan Balls's partner, Sophie Bailey, criticised an initial report that described him only as "a man who was standing outside a vehicle," saying he had been working to recover a broken-down car and was trying to help someone who was stranded. "He wasn't just 'a man standing outside a vehicle,'" she wrote on social media. "Ryan was working, doing the job he was passionate about recovering a broken-down car and helping someone who was stranded on the A11."
Bailey said Balls ran an independent recovery service, RB Autos, from his home in Diss and was a devoted father of two young sons and stepfather to two other children. "On Sunday, he never came home. Our children have lost their dad, and I have lost my soulmate," she wrote. A family friend told a local newspaper that Ball’s death compounds recent bereavements for his mother, who has lost several close relatives in the past two years.
A friend has set up a fundraising page to help cover funeral costs and support the children. The GoFundMe description said donations would be used to cover funeral and memorial expenses and to help the family during what it called an "incredibly difficult time."
Norfolk Police said the driver of the Ford Puma, a man in his late teens, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and taken to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning. He has since been released on bail until Dec. 5, the force said.
Officers asked anyone who witnessed the collision or who may have relevant dashcam footage to contact Norfolk Constabulary, quoting reference 36/64383/25. The road was closed for a period while emergency crews worked at the scene.
Local emergency response teams have in recent years highlighted the dangers faced by roadside recovery workers and others who stop to assist broken-down vehicles. Campaign groups and police regularly urge motorists to slow down and move over where safe when they see recovery crews or other people in high-visibility clothing at the roadside.
Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the collision. No further details about the events immediately before the collision have been released.