ALDOT says the deceased employee is 35-year-old Jacob Smith, and the injured employee is 63-year-old Kenneth Hooper. Both were removing barrels used in a lane closure while the bridge deck was being repaired.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Mr. Smith, and we hope and pray for a speedy recovery for Mr. Hopper,” ALDOT Director John Cooper says in a written statement. “This is a sobering reminder that we all must do everything we can to keep our highways safe. Motorists must slow down, watch out for highway workers and safely move over when passing work crews.”
According to a report by the Decatur Daily, two vehicles struck the parked ALDOT vehicle from which the department’s employees worked early in the morning April 14. The drivers of those vehicles also were injured.
The accident occurred during National Work Zone Awareness Week. Roughly 120 road construction workers are killed each year in work zone sites. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, five road construction workers were killed in Alabama in 2014.
