CENTRAL CITY, Pa. - A soldier home on leave from Iraq was electrocuted after stopping to help a motorist who hit a utility pole, state police said.
Army National Guard Sgt. Dale Martin Hardiman, 39, of Stonycreek Township, came into contact with downed electrical wires as he tried to help the car's driver early Saturday.
"He was being a good Samaritan," said his mother, Virginia Hardiman.
Hardiman suffered a heart attack and died at a hospital, Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said.
Hardiman had been in Iraq since December and was home on a two-week leave, his parents said. He was due to return to Iraq on Tuesday for a final 45-day stint, family members said.
He had worked as a corrections officer before heading to Iraq with the Army National Guard 103rd Company C, 876th Engineering Battalion.
The identity and condition of the motorist involved in the accident was not available.
Central City is about 130 miles west of Harrisburg.
