Men killed by truck in Va. as they work to help accident victims: Police

A father and son were killed after they pulled their minivan to the side of the road to help injured passengers from another car accident, according to the Virginia State Police.

They were killed at about 1 a.m. Friday in Wythe County in Southwest Virginia after a tractor-trailer approaching the scene jackknifed and hit the minivan.

A third person in the minivan -- the daughter and sister of the men-- was a nurse who had been helping the driver and passenger of a disabled car that had spun out of control on Interstate 81 northbound just south of Exit 60.

She was not injured, police said.

Virginia State Police identified those killed at the scene as the Dodge Caravan's driver, William Edward Smith Jr., 25, of Mooresburg, Tenn., who was standing outside the minivan, and his father, William Edward Smith Sr., 54, of Sylva, N.C., who was inside the vehicle.

Minutes after the men stopped, police said, a tractor-trailer came upon the disabled car sitting on the highway. The truck jackknifed after its driver attempted to avoid the first accident scene.

The car's occupants were taken to a Roanoke hospital in serious condition, said state police, who continue to investigate the crash and possible charges.

-- Mary Pat Flaherty