MoDOT employees recovering after truck slams into work vehicle

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. – A “miracle” – that’s what the district engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation said happened after two of his crew members walked away OK following a crash.

A tractor trailer slammed into their work truck earlier this week. They’re still shaken as the Missouri State Highway Patrol continues its investigation .

MSHP said the tractor trailer could’ve been going 60-70 miles per hour when the driver crashed into the MoDOT crew’s vehicle on the highway.

“I heard there were no skid marks,” District Engineer Chris Redline said.

A bright orange sign warning drivers “road work ahead” is now a cautionary tale.

A mangled TMA, or truck mounted attenuator, and work truck are what’s left after they were hit Monday morning, while crews were working along 7 Highway, just east of Harrisonville in Cass County.

“Hit ’em square in the back at full speed,” Redlines said. “Again it’s a miracle they survived.”

Redline said two employees were striping when the 31-year-old driver of the tractor trailer slammed into the protective vehicle that’s now unrecognizable.

“We have people out there right now doing the same thing and that’s what scares me,” Redline said, “because all it takes is that one person not paying attention and we get this.”

Sg.t Andy Bell said at this point in the investigation, it’s too soon to say what caused the driver of the tractor trailer not to see the workers or the caution signs.

Troopers are following up with a witness who may have dash camera footage of the crash.

Bell said everybody was buckled.

“Fortunately, there were only minor injuries, but there was a little bit of an inferno with the collision,” Bell said.

Redline said every year about 40 crews across Missouri are hit and 10-15 of those are in the Kansas City region.

“I think there’s a lot of luck involved in this one and we don’t want to rely on luck,” Redline said, “because it’s not just us who get hurt in these crashes, it’s the public too, and we don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

In more than 30 years with MoDOT, Redline said he’s only seen two other crashes worse than this.

“Buckle up, put your phone down and pay attention,” Redlines said.

Bell reminds drivers to slow down and move over, it’s the law.

More safety tips can be found here .

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