KY Transportation Cabinet urging drivers to use caution after road worker fatality

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet are reminding motorists to exercise caution when driving through work and construction zones.

On Monday, a long-time employee with the KYTC in Campbellsville, Ky., was struck and killed while on the job in a work zone.

According to the KYTC’s website, in 2018, there were 1,042 crashes in construction zones in Kentucky.

That number represented a 3% increase from 2017.

Officials have urged drivers to pay attention when driving through work zones – which includes not texting while driving, fiddling with the radio, or doing anything that might lead to distracted driving.

Wes Watt, public information officer for KYTC District 3, said that often times it’s motorists who put themselves at great risk when they drive carelessly through a construction zone.

It’s also an issue that hits close to home for District 3, who lost one of their own workers on the job not too long ago.

“Any time that there’s a tragic situation, it’s a very sobering moment for us,” said Watt. “It certainly was not that long ago that we lost one of our own district 3 employees in Allen County. It’s just a reminder to all of us that work in work zones that they can be really hazardous.”

Watt added that motorists should do their best to slow down and move over to the opposite lane of the road crews whenever passing through a work zone.