William Riley Knight died hours after his wedding on Saturday when he stopped to help a stranded driver whose car slid off the road, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Knight, 49, was accompanied by his wife Nikki as they made their way to a hotel from their wedding reception in Northwest Indiana when they stopped to help a disabled car stuck in a ditch on the side of the road, according to the Sun-Times.
Knight made his way to Linda Darlington, 42, who was the other driver of the disabled car when another car struck both Knight and Darlington, killing them both instantly, the Sun-Times reported.
Nikki, a registered nurse, told the Sun-Times said she heard the thud of the passing cars hitting the bodies from inside the car and rushed out to help but said neither had a pulse when she checked.
"He said, 'We've got to stop. It's late and they need help,'" Nikki told the Sun-Times. "He was the type of person who was willing to put himself on the line and support you no matter what."
According to the Lake County Sheriff Department, both Knight and Darlington were pronounced dead at the scene of blunt force trauma, according to the Sun-Times. All drivers involved in the crash stayed at the scene until authorities arrived. None of the drivers involved tested positive for alcohol and the sheriff's office said no charges have been filed.
"I went from a being a newlywed to a widow in less than 48 hours - the highest high to the lowest low," Nikki told the Sun-Times. "It's a blur."
Knight was a former U.S. Army Ranger who served for 12 years and assisted on foreign assignments in Operation Desert Storm, the Sun-Times reported. He was working as a heat-treating specialist in his hometown.
