Fundraising site set up to help New Jersey DOT worker who was run over on the job

Screen Shot 2015-08-11 at 10.35.59 AMA website created to raise money for a New Jersey Department of Transportation worker who was injured on the job has raised well over $8,000 in just four days.

Carmine Desomma, 28, was working with a NJDOT crew to remove litter and other debris from the roadway on an overpass when he was struck by a vehicle. The man suffered serious injuries to his head and legs and requires multiple surgeries, according to the GoFundMe page.

“CJ has suffered extensive injuries and will have to undergo multiple surgeries. He is facing a very long and painful recovery. However, he is tough and has a lot of family and friends who are going to help him recover,” Desomma’s family said on the webpage. “We really appreciate any assistance you can provide to CJ as he recovers from this life changing event, and thank you in advance for all your love and support.”

Jones was working with three NJDOT vehicles in the right lane just before he was struck, according to the Daily Record. The NJDOT trucks were in slowdown mode to protect the workers, but a Chevrolet Malibu attempted to pass the trucks. The car entered a shoulder as the driver swerved to avoid workers, and then hit a concrete barrier before it hit a NJDOT truck, another barrier and another NJDOT vehicle. When the Malibu finally came to a stop, Desomma was pinned underneath.

If not for the help of some of the bystanders, Desomma may have died. Richard Growe rushed to help Desomma before the emergency crews arrived. Growe and the others were trying to lift the car off an unconscious Desomma without luck until Growe thought to use his flatbed truck to rescue the man. Another of the “Good Samaritans” took off his own shirt to try to tie off some of the injured man’s wounds.

“NJDOT is truly grateful for the heroic action not only of the other NJDOT crew members, but particularly of the actions of tow-truck driver Richard Growe and the other two Good Samaritans — a volunteer EMT and a former fireman — who came to the aid of an NJDOT worker after he was struck by a car on I-80,” DOT spokesman Stephen Schapiro said. “Their quick action helped free the injured worker from underneath the car, expediting the care he received.”