June 21, 2011
A 54-year-old Indiana Department of Transportation employee was killed from injuries sustained in a work-related accident on the morning on Thursday, June 16.
At 10 a.m. the man was working on a repair at the intersection of 1400 North and U.S. 231 in DeMotte, Indiana, patching cracks in the roadway with a hot sealant. An INDOT dump truck that was putting sand over the sealant backed over the lifelong Rensselaer, Indiana, resident. The dump truck was driven by a 50-year-old INDOT employee who says he did not see the man, according to WLFI.
The injured man was transported to the ER at Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Crown Point, where he was pronounced dead at 11:18 a.m. He died of blunt force trauma, according to a coroner’s spokesman.
INDOT Spokesman Jim Pinkerton told NWITimes.com that the man had worked for the department for 34 years.
“The INDOT family is saddened any time one of our co-workers is lost,” Pinkerton said. “We extend our sympathies to the family in this difficult time.”
NWITimes.com reports that Indiana State Police, INDOT, and the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration are each investigating the highway worker’s death. Police have said they don’t believe drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident.
A funeral for the man is being held today in Rensselaer.
What can be done to prevent on-the-job injuries and deaths of highway workers?
If someone you know has been involved in an Indiana wrongful death, the Indiana wrongful death lawyers at Stewart & Stewart Attorneys can help.