HUBER HEIGHTS — Just a few minutes away from his house, a good Samaritan died after he stopped to help a stranger who had crashed on Interstate 70 in Huber Heights.
>>PHOTOS: Family remembers man killed in I-70 crash in Huber Heights
As News Center 7 previously reported, Joseph Shives, 40, was hit on Feb. 12 on I-70 near State Route 202 and Old Troy Pike. He had stopped to check on the driver of a crash that had happened there.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bystander who was hit by car while checking on Huber Heights crash dies from injuries
As reported on New Center 7 at 11:00, Shives’ wife, Alyssa King, described how his selfless act was not out of character.
King said she is upset that the person who hit her husband will not face charges.
Police said this incident was an accident and the person responsible stopped after they hit Shives.
“He was a genuine person,” King said. “He’s done it a million times and he probably, if he made it out alright, he would still be doing it.”
Doctors tried to save his life for 10 days, but he passed away from his injuries.
“He was battered and beaten and he had tubes coming out of everywhere. I touched her forehead like this and his monitor started beeping,” King said. “That was his heart-stopping, he waited for me to pass.”
She told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott about how much his life mattered.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bystander who was checking on crash victim hit by second car, suffers critical injuries
“He was fighting through it,” their daughter Aspen said.
“He was fighting for us, baby,” King said.
Now, King will raise their seven- and two-year-old children alone.
“Every night she says Daddy, Daddy, where are you? And I have to look her in the face and tell her Daddy’s just not coming home baby,” King said.
Someone working at the hospital gave Aspen a stuffed animal. It helps her feel close to her dad.
“Every night she kisses it and says good night Daddy,” King said.
“Makes me remember Dad,” Aspen said.
>> RELATED: WATCH: Officers arrive to injury crash that closed EB I-70 in Huber Heights
But after the girls go to bed every night, reality sets back in for King.
“I cry at night. I miss Daddy. I’ve been with Daddy half my life; I don’t know life without Daddy. I’m going to have to learn how to move on,” King said.
King said along with trying to pay the bills, she wants to get her kids and herself into therapy.
“There’s a million things he’s got to miss and he will be missed. I just have to learn how to move forward and keep his memory a good one,” King said.
An online fundraiser to support Shives’ family can be found here.