Tyler White was helping a friend whose car was stuck in the mud when he was struck and killed. The friend was also injured and taken to the hospital. Arlington Police are investigating the SUV driver who crashed into them to see if alcohol was a factor. NBC 5’s Sophia Beausoleil spoke with White’s wife.
Arlington Police said a man was killed and another woman was severely injured after an SUV crashed into them early Saturday morning.
According to Arlington Police, around 1 a.m. on Saturday in the 300 block of N. Watson Rd. near Division St., officers responded to reports of an SUV striking multiple pedestrians.
They found a 31-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman injured on the ground.
Police said the man, Tyler White, was taken to the hospital but died. The woman remains in critical condition, according to police
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"I'm devastated. I'm in shock. Like, it's unbelievable," said Breya White, Tyler's wife.
On Friday night, she and her husband of three years were at a family member's holiday party when they received a phone call from a friend.
"Our friend called, saying his wife's car slid off the road. So he [Tyler] instantly said, 'Okay, I'll go help.' And then I went with him, and another friend went, and I sat in the back seat, and then when we got there, they started assessing the car," explained White.
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She said they parked on the shoulder of the road near the grass as her husband went to get ropes out of the trunk to tow their friend's 2016 Hyundai Veloster that was stuck in the mud. White said she was chatting with the wife, whose car needed help.
"We were hugging and I'm like, 'Get in the car, get in the car, it's cold outside.' She's like, 'No, I'm muddy," said White.
After White went back inside their 2004 GMC Yukon, everything changed in an instant.
"All I see is this bright light, and I hear an engine, and it's just, 'boom!' And then I just slide, the car just slides off, and then she (the friend) just goes down, and I'm just spinning, spinning, spinning," explained White about the car she was in.
White called out for her husband and found him on the ground. Their other friend performed CPR on Tyler until paramedics arrived.
"He was breathing, so I thought there was hope. I really was so optimistic. I was so optimistic that he was going to make it. I saw the injuries, but I looked past it because he was breathing," expressed White.
Once an officer brought her to the hospital, minutes later she learned her husband didn't survive.
"And when they finally let me see him, I just sat with him. I just kissed him. I just laid my head on his chest. I just had to do that for a last time, because that would be my last time to kiss him, to lay my head on his chest," cried White.
Police said first responders had to free the driver of a BMW X1, a 32-year-old woman, after it crashed into the Yukon at a high rate of speed.
Arlington Police said charges are pending based on the investigation. In a news release, it said crash investigators have not ruled out if alcohol may be a factor.
"We pulled off the side of the road. Like, how did she even get that far off the road to even hit us?" questioned White.
She said her friend, the one whose car was stuck in the mud, is still in the hospital.
"I talked to her husband today, and he said she's fighting. She's still alive, so she's fighting. She's had some surgeries, but she's still fighting," said White.
White also has some injuries from the crash but is bracing for the emotional toll of losing her husband.
"The little bruises, that's nothing compared to this internal pain that I have in my heart," said White.
The couple have three kids, a 10-year-old boy and daughters ages 7 and 2.
"He just loved us. He was such a great daddy. Such a great daddy. I just hate that my babies are not going to be able to experience him moving on in life," said White.
She said her husband liked to fish and hunt and planned on taking a trip next April for his birthday. Tyler was also into aviation and worked as an airplane mechanic.
He was also known for his kind heart and his final moments mirrored his outlook on life.
"He was so selfless. He loved helping people He was like, 'Oh, it's not a big deal. If I could do it, I'm going to do it," described Breya. "He would always help our neighbors. He's a car guy, so he would change my neighbor's oil. Fix the neighbor's cabinets. He was so selfless. He loved helping people."
“Tyler was amazing. He is amazing. Phenomenal man, a good man. Put his family first, man. Went to work. He loved his job. He loved his friends. He loved his neighbors," said White.
White said she's surrounding herself with family and friends as she navigates the heartbreak, with Christmas less than two weeks away.
“I just loved him so bad. I loved him so bad, and I just cherish the three years of marriage that we had. I wish it was longer," said White who wishes they would have picked up their friend and tried to tow the car the next day. "This could have been avoided. My husband could still be alive. I regret that we even went out there that night.
Now, the family is focusing on funeral arrangements for Tyler.
