2 Construction Workers Hit, Killed By Car on I-40 Near Yukon

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said two construction workers were hit and killed by a passing vehicle in a construction zone on westbound I-40 near Cimarron Road just west of Yukon Wednesday.

Wednesday, June 30th 2010, 7:33 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

YUKON, Oklahoma -- The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said two construction workers were hit and killed by a passing vehicle in a construction zone on westbound I-40 near Cimarron Road just west of Yukon Wednesday.

OHP Troopers said 48-year-old Salvador Hernandez and his nephew 20-year-old Jose Hernandez were both pronounced dead at the scene. A third relative working at the site witnessed the incident.

Troopers are still trying to figure out why 61-year-old Ethel Cooper, the driver of the Chevy HHR, left the interstate, striking the two workers.

"She hit the right spot where she drove off the roadway, and her wheel hit the spot where she couldn't come back on the roadway. She wasn't paying attention for some reason," said OHP Trooper Tom Barton.

One worker said it was his son and brother who were killed. All three are from Kansas and the rest of the family has been notified of what happened.

"It's why we're so strict about construction zones. We're always really hard on people because we have workers out here who want to go home and see their families," Barton said.

Cooper was taken to Canadian Valley Hospital in Yukon in good condition. A male passenger in the vehicle was not seriously injured.

ODOT was on the scene to help investigators along with numerous vehicles and personnel from the DUIT Construction company based in Edmond.

Duit Construction released a statement Thursday regarding the tragic accident:

"We were devastated to learn of yesterday's accident along I-40 and Cimarron Road and resulting deaths of Salvador and Jose Hernandez. While we feel for the driver who veered off the road and ran into the construction zone, our immediate concern is to help the Hernandez family as they work through this time of grief.

Oklahoma-based Duit Construction workers are busy with a number of road and bridge projects statewide, and we employ every means available to keep our workers safe. Lights, barrels, safety cones, warning signs, and flags are part of our normal safety measures and were in place at the site yesterday.

Our employees have a critically important and dangerous job to do, and drivers who navigate through the construction zones are making life and death decisions for people on site. We know drivers can be distracted by fatigue, weather conditions, texting, and phone calls. Going into a holiday weekend, we realize our interstates will be heavily traveled. We are pleading with the driving public to be careful and watch for workers who are doing their job while in harm's way."

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