Backhoe operator dies from injuries suffered in crash with semi truck

A veteran Indiana highway construction worker has died in the hospital three weeks after he was seriously injured when the he was opedaling was struck by a semi truck.

According to The Star Press in Muncie, Indiana, Henry County Highway Department employee Robert Kirby was operating a backhoe Nov. 20 on a state road in New Castle when a semi truck rear ended the county-owned equipment.

Kirby suffered a broken skull, among other injuries. He was transported by air ambulance to a nearby hospital. He succumbed to his injuries Dec. 12.

The 58-year-old Kirby had been working for the Henry County Highway Department for nearly four decades, beginning his career with the department when he was 21 years old.

The driver of the semi truck suffered minor injuries and was given a citation for “speed too fast to avoid collision.” No criminal charges have been filed.