BUREAU COUNTY, Ill. — A highway maintenance worker is dead after being hit while working to help direct traffic.
According to police Robert D. Bowen 84, of Macomb was driving westbound on I-80 approaching milepost 44 in the left lane when for unknown reasons he hit a highway maintenance worker. Police say the worker was a 47-year-old man from Chicago.
The official report indicates that the worker was standing outside of his maintenance truck with an arrow board and crash attenuator assisting with traffic control in a maintenance zone.
The Bureau County Coroner’s Office pronounced the worker dead at the scene. All westbound lanes of Interstate 80 were closed around 10:55 a.m.for the traffic crash investigation.
Traffic was rerouted to Illinois Route 40 from Interstate 80 westbound.
All westbound lanes of Interstate 80 were reopened around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, September 10.
The driver was cited for failure to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian working within a highway construction or maintenance zone. Additional charges are pending.
