KENNA, W.Va. — The state Division of Highways worker struck by a car while operating a long-arm mower Thursday along Interstate 77 in Jackson County had been hurt on the job once before, the agency said.
The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was on a DOH roller in March 2015 that was struck by a tractor trailer. The collision also happened on Interstate 77 near the Jackson-Kanawha County line.
In a DOH safety video produced after the 2015 work zone incident, the man’s coworkers talked about the close call.
“We were patching potholes, just routine patching and at some point something happened behind us,” one worker said. “The tractor trailer jackknifed coming toward us. I wondered where our roller man was and then he came out of the smoke.”
The equipment operator was wearing a seat belt when he was struck Thursday. He’s being treated at CAMC General. The names of the two people in the passenger car who died in the wreck have yet to be released.