A road worker was killed in Sandy Springs, Georgia, after he was struck by a pickup truck during night work for a major tolled highway expansion.
According to the Sandy Springs Police Department, officers were called to GA 400 southbound near Abernathy Road around 1 a.m. May 21. Several trucks were blocking the highway, and a man lay in the middle of the road who was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been revealed. He was identified as “a construction worker actively working on the highway.”
A gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was located by SSPD about 250 yards south of the scene and showed significant damage. The Tacoma’s driver was charged with Homicide by Vehicle in the Second Degree, Move Over Law violations and speeding.
The homicide charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.
The worker was setting out traffic warning signs for Georgia’s State Road 400 Express Lanes project, according to a report by Aspen Media Group.
The $4.6 billion project will upgrade a 16-mile corridor north of Atlanta with new tolled express lanes in both directions between Fulton and Forsyth counties.
Two buffer trucks and a stationary police vehicle with blue lights on were on the site for safety when he was struck, Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said during a May 21 State Transportation Board Meeting. The crew had all safety measures in place, he said.
"Someone was not paying attention," McMurry said of the pickup driver.
A day before the incident, the Associated General Contractors of America released the results of a survey of its members that found 60% of contractors have experienced at least one crash involving a moving vehicle in a highway work zone in the past year. Almost one-third of surveyed contractors had experienced five or more crashes.
Among contractors who had experienced a highway work zone crash, 27% reported crashes that injured construction workers, and almost 60% reported crashes that injured drivers or passengers.
