A roadside recovery mechanic was killed on Sunday while assisting a stranded motorist on the A11 dual carriageway near Besthorpe, Norfolk, police and family members said.
Norfolk Constabulary said the man, identified by family as 37-year-old Ryan Balls, died at the scene after being struck by a black Ford Puma ST during daylight hours in dry conditions. The collision happened around lunchtime on the A11, about 15 miles from Norwich, and emergency services closed the road while an air ambulance landed, but Mr. Balls was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man in his late teens who was driving the Ford Puma was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and taken to Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning. Norfolk Police said he has since been released on bail until Dec. 5. Officers asked anyone who witnessed the collision or who has dashcam footage to contact the force, quoting reference 36/64383/25.
Mr. Balls’s partner, Sophie Bailey, criticised a police press release and local reporting that described him generically as “a man who was standing outside a vehicle,” saying the description did not reflect what he was doing. In a social media post she said he was working, recovering a broken-down car and helping someone stranded on the A11. “He wasn’t just ‘a man standing outside a vehicle,’” she wrote. “He went out that day, as he always did, to help people in need and to make the road safer for everyone.”
Bailey said Mr. Balls was a devoted father of four, a partner, son and brother, and ran an independent breakdown service called RB Autos from his home in Diss, Norfolk. A family friend said he had two young sons and was a stepfather to two other children who called him dad.
A GoFundMe page set up by a friend of the family said donations would help cover funeral and memorial expenses and support Mr. Balls’s children. The page said the family had recently suffered multiple bereavements and that the sudden loss had left an “unfillable void” in the lives of those who knew him.
Norfolk Police reiterated requests for witnesses and relevant footage from motorists who were in the area at the time of the collision. The force’s statement confirmed the sequence of response and the arrest, and gave the investigation reference number for anyone with information.
Emergency services often advise motorists and roadside workers to take precautions when attending broken-down vehicles on high-speed roads. Investigations into collisions that result in death typically involve examination of the scene, witness statements and any available camera footage; police did not provide further detail on the circumstances of this incident beyond the arrest and the bail conditions.
Mr. Balls’s death prompted tributes on social media from family and acquaintances who described him as committed to his work and his family. The police appeal remains open to anyone with information to contact Norfolk Constabulary quoting reference 36/64383/25.