Avoiding Fatalities: Struck by a Car in a Work Zone

This video is part of series of animated videos, created by ARTBA as a part of the FHWA Cooperative Agreement DTFH61-11-H-00029 and the OSHA Cooperative Agreement SH-24861-13-60-F-11. This video series is based on actual fatalities as investigated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) and documented in NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) reports. The videos follow the course of the accident and subsequent fatality and provide recommendations designed to control or eliminate the identified risk.

On February 22, 2000, a 42 year old male maintenance technician, who was performing the duties of a traffic control flagger, died when he was struck by a car at a highway work zone. The flagger (the fatal victim), was working with a state maintenance team to install a new roadside information sign along a major two lane state highway. The driver of a small passenger vehicle may have been distracted, or was confused as she entered the work zone. The driver was not able to comprehend the flagger’s instructions and drove her vehicle straight at the victim. The vehicle struck the victim traveling at a reported speed of between 50 and 60 MPH. On impact, the victim struck the hood and windshield of the car, and then was thrown over the top of the vehicle before hitting the asphalt pavement along the highway. A witness who saw the incident immediately called 911 for emergency assistance. Emergency personnel treated the victim on site. He died from his injuries during transport to a local medical facility. Taken from FACE summary — Washington Case Report 00WA011