A sign on a California highway is pleading for drivers to pray for an injured freeway worker. The man suffered an injury on the job when he was setting out cones to mark an exit ramp on the freeway. A driver hit the man and then drove away. This accident caused serious injury that may result in either coma or paralysis.
According to a spokesperson at Caltrans, the driver did not attempt to put on the brakes when he veered to the right of the road and hit the freeway worker. Another worker who witnessed the accident heard a loud bumping noise and saw his co-worker sliding across the roadway. The injured man is a 37-year old employee of a SEMA Construction, a Caltrans contractor that is currently building a carpool lane on the highway.
The driver that police apprehended was found with a car that had front-end damage. He has recently been charged with DUI that resulted in serious bodily injury to the man. The charges are heightened by the allegation that the suspect may have caused coma or paralysis to the victim. The suspect has pleaded not guilty, and it remains to be seen what the outcome of his trial will be.
This worker, like so many others in California, suffered an injury on the job while doing what he does every day. Through no fault of his own, he now faces a hard road to recovery, and most likely has permanent damage to his body. Workers’ compensation benefits may help him and his family with financial losses resulting from the accident, so they may wish to seek legal advice in order to ensure that they get the full range of benefits to which they are entitled.
Source: The Press-Enterprise, “RIVERSIDE: Sign asks motorists to pray for injured worker,” Richard K. De Atley, Jan. 20, 2013