BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — For the second time this spring, members of a state highways crew had to jump out of the way of a vehicle speeding through a work zone.
The latest incident happened Tuesday afternoon in Buckhannon.
Police said a car being driven by William David Workman, Jr., 30, of Buckhannon, went past a flagger on Marion Street and into the work zone where crews were filling potholes in preparation for the upcoming Strawberry Festival.
Workers scurried as Workman slammed the car into a tree.
“He just sped right through the work zone,” said Division of Highways spokesperson Carrie Bly. “One of our quick-thinking equipment operators actually got a backhoe to kind of wedge him in so he couldn’t leave.”
Police said at least one passenger and Workman took off from the wreckage. Workman didn’t get very far before he was taken into custody. He faces a number of charges including third-offense DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving and driving on a revoked license for DUI. Investigators believed Workman was high on synthetic marijuana.
“It’s something that doesn’t need to happen,” Bly said. “For someone to just ignore all of the signs and just go through,it could have been a much more dangerous situation.”
Bly said it’s been a scary spring for DOH crews. A few weeks ago a separate group of workers had to jump out of the way of a tractor trailer in a Jackson County I-77 work zone.