A VDOT contract employee doing maintenance work on I-64 in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), required hospital treatment for injuries he sustained after being hit on the morning of May 20, 2014. The accident occurred between the exits for Chesapeake Boulevard and Norview Avenue, and state police charged the woman who struck the highway worker with reckless driving for operating a motor vehicle in a work zone while distracted.
Law enforcement officials did not release details on what distracted the at-fault driver, but they did note that the VDOT worker got struck with the car’s passenger door mirror. That detail indicates that the woman behind the wheel of the car failed to stay in her lane because she took her eyes and mind off the road. Lapses in attention leave drivers unable to stay in their lane, spot and slow or stop for obstacles, obey traffic signals or give road crew members enough space to do their jobs safely.
Fortunately, the injuries sustained by the highway worker were not life-threatening. As Virginia personal injury attorneys who have helped many victims of workplace accidents, however, my colleagues and I know that medical bills, lost wages and ongoing rehabilitation and therapy resulting from incidents like this one on the Hampton Roads interstate can leave victims in serious financial difficulties.
The collision illustrates, once again, the literally life-preserving responsibility drivers have when traveling through highway work zones. A moment’s distraction can end or change a life forever.
EJL