A Richmond Hill man known for performing good deeds was struck and killed on Interstate 95 over the weekend after he pulled over to help a stranger having car trouble.
Tim Ebert, a former Marine, was 34.
The accident happened Sunday outside Savannah when the married father of three children was driving toward Savannah Hilton Head International Airport, where he worked as an air traffic controller. On the way, he noticed a stranded motorist on I-95 North near I-16 and got out of his car to help, according to WSAV News.
He was walking back to his vehicle when a passing truck came up from behind and ran into him, WSAV reported, citing the Pooler Police Department.
No charges have been announced.
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“It’s such a tragic event. This guy was on his way into work, just doing the normal-day routine, and happens to encounter somebody on the side of the road that needed help. And Tim got killed for doing that,” said friend Jack Doyle, who first got the sad news during a 7 a.m. phone call.
He said Ebert was a good man and the type to go out of his way for others.
He described his friend’s actions to help a disabled car as characteristic of him — “Tim in a nutshell,” he said.
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“We utilized him a lot in conflict resolution at work because he was such a nice, likable guy,” Doyle told WSAV. “If I needed something answered, if I had a question, then he was probably my go-to guy.”
Ebert is survived by Lindsay Ebert, his wife of seven years, and three children — a girl age 6, and two boys ages 9 and 12.
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According to his obituary, Ebert “loved to spend time exploring the outdoors and playing games with his family. He enjoyed fishing, golf, watching his children play sports, playing Magic the Gathering and Legend of Zelda, cooking, eating spicy food and pickled sausages with his daughter, and frequenting his favorite restaurant, Chipotle.”
A GoFundMe page has been created in his name to help Ebert’s family with expenses, and more than $48,000 has been raised so far.
“Tim was one of the kindest people we have ever met,” Ebert’s friends said in the fundraiser statement. “We are here to take care of his family the way that he has taken care of us.”
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Others who knew Ebert also shared fond memories.
“Tim was a great friend, and [counseled] me through some emotional stuff during our deployment,” one person said. “My life is significantly better having known him.”
Ebert was in the U.S. Marine Corps for more than 13 years. He served tours in Iraq and Kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve, according to the Bryan County News.
He was stationed as a gunnery sergeant at Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina before an honorable discharge in 2017, according to reports.
From there, Ebert went on to join the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller, Bryan County News reported.
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A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Oak Hill Cemetery in Richmond Hill, with military honors, WSAV reported.
“He was a highly successful individual that we knew was going to keep the flying public safe, that we knew he was going to be looking out for the hardball characteristics on landing,” Doyle told WSAV. “It’s absolutely shattering, like we’re all devastated.”
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