GENOA, WI (WXOW)—A Vernon County Highway Department worker suffered minor injuries when he was hit by a car Monday morning as he was setting up construction warning signs.
"It was only about a second and I was clipped, took the mirror off the car and the bolts scraped my back and I have a gash in my back," Gary Becker, Vernon County Highway Department said.
He said this is the perfect example of how quickly incidents like this can happen if you aren't paying attention.
"There's always a lot of activity in a construction zone and if they aren't paying attention, you know it's pretty easy for something to happen," Becker said.
He asks that you slow down, put your cell phone away and keep your eyes on the road when you're in a construction zone.
"It's like your not there or you're intruding on them. We try to maintain the roads to improve things safety wise, but safety is the big thing," Jeff Fish Patrol Superintendent said.
The highway department tries to keep themselves safe by parking a truck with flashing lights at each end of the construction, wearing safety vests and having a flagman hold a stop sign to keep an eye on traffic.
"They've got to be watching every direction all the time because you've got to pay attention. We've been lucky, it's been years since anybody's been seriously hurt," Fish said.
Crews said they're keeping an eye out for you, but you have to keep an eye out for them too because Becker's incident could have been a lot worse.
"It was the luck of the draw for me, I guess, that I only got bruises and a few scrapes," Becker said.
Becker is ok and was back at work on Tuesday.
The driver gave his statement to the Vernon County Sheriff's Department at the scene and was allowed to leave, the Vernon County District Attorney is investigating and will decide whether to charge the driver.
