Co-Workers Remember Contractors Killed At Tulsa Intersection

By Dan Bewley, News On 6

Ronnie Blagg Jr.and Mike Turner were working on a traffic light at 71st and Elwood when a driver lost control and slammed into them. The two men worked for Traffic and Lighting Systems.

They were just doing their job when they were hit by the wayward car. Police are looking to see if the driver of that car had drugs or alcohol in his system.

The man Blagg and Turner worked for say he couldn't have asked for better employees.

"It's horrible having to call those wives and go down to the hospital and meet with their families. It's horrible," said Larry Butler, vice president with Traffic and Lighting Systems.

Butler says the past two days have been some of the toughest of his career. Two of his employees, Ronnie Blagg Jr. and Mike Turner, died Monday after they were hit by a car that jumped a curb at 71st and Elwood.

"My guys didn't have a chance, didn't have a chance," Butler said.

Police say 18-year-old Harley Stone admitted taking a handful of pills before losing control of his car and hitting Bragg and Turner.

4/28/2014 Related Story: Witnesses Try To Save Lives At Deadly Tulsa Crash

"If there was a truly accident you might be able to start trying to wrap your mind around something like this happening, but from the sounds of it this wasn't an accident," said their boss, Larry Butler.

Butler says Mike Turner had worked for the company for three years while Bragg has been there since the early 2000s. Both men, he says, were fantastic employees who loved spending time with their families

"Both family-oriented men - family, children and grandchildren; great workers," he said.

Butler says TLS has suspended operations in the city while his other employees figure out how to deal with this tragedy. He says the company has talked to grief counselors, and he's worried about the mental well-being of his employees.

He says this tragedy is a sad reminder to all drivers to be careful in work zones.

"Slow down, get off your cell phones or your mobile devices, whatever that may be, pay attention, be extra careful because this is somebody's son, father, brother, uncle," said Larry Butler, Traffic and Lighting Systems vice president.

Police are waiting on the results from the lab to determine if charges should be filed.