TDOT Mourns Loss of Road Worker

Operations Technician Tragically Killed while on Roadside

HICKMAN COUNTY, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation is mourning the loss of a worker fatally injured today along Interstate 40 West near mile marker 156 in Hickman County. The TDOT Operations Technician was with a road crew that had stopped on the shoulder of the interstate. The crew, including several workers and a caravan of vehicles, was struck by a commercial vehicle. Three other TDOT workers were injured in this crash that remains under investigation.

The worker killed in the crash had been with the Department since 2010. He was hired as a maintenance worker, and was quickly promoted through the ranks to become an Operations Technician 3. His death is the first TDOT fatality since 2013. TDOT will release the name of the worker once his family has been notified.

“Our hearts are broken at the news that we lost one of our own today and that three others were injured”, said Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. “It’s a reminder of the many state employees who work in dangerous jobs every day to serve our state and their fellow Tennesseans. We are grateful for them. Crissy and I send our prayers to the families of the victim and those injured and to the entire TDOT family across the state.”

“We are deeply saddened by the loss, and our hearts and prayers are with his family”, said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. “Every day, our employees work along Tennessee’s freeways, risking their lives. This is a tragic reminder of how dangerous highway jobs can be, and how motorists must use extreme caution any time they see our trucks on the side of the road.”

Counselors will be provided for fellow employees in the middle Tennessee Region 3 and across the state as needed.

Since 1948, 110 TDOT workers have lost their lives while working on Tennessee roadways.

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