NORTH LIMA — A 29-year-old Washingtonville man who had repaired a tire on a semi tractor trailer on the side of the Ohio Turnpike was killed early Monday.

He was walking toward the rear of the tractor trailer to retrieve his warning triangles when hit by a passing utility van.

The accident, which happened at 3:50 a.m. in Beaver Township, took place in the eastbound lanes in the North Lima area near mile post 234. The turnpike has two lanes of eastbound traffic in that area.

The Hiram Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Nicholas Gable, 24, of Hartville, was driving the utility van in the right lane when he passed a 2022 Peterbuilt semi tractor trailer that was unoccupied on the shoulder of the road.

The tractor trailer was there because it had a tire blowout. The victim had repaired the tire and was in the right lane alongside of the tractor trailer afterward “preparing to leave the scene” when he was struck, the state patrol said in a news release.

The utility van “side-swiped the semi tractor trailer, then struck the pedestrian that was in the road,” the state patrol stated. His name has not been released by the patrol. The repairman worked for a private service, the release states. He was pronounced dead at the scene by an official with the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office. There were no other injuries in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, the state patrol stated.