A 50-year-old construction worker died Tuesday on I-95 after being hit by a dump truck in a construction zone separated from the Maine Turnpike southbound travel lanes around mile 5 in York.
The Shaw Bros. worker was hit by a truck also owned by the construction company at 11:42 a.m., said Maine State Police Sgt. James Urquhart. The truck was backing up, moving paving material from one area of the job site to another, when the accident happened, he said.
The crash happened behind the cement Jersey barriers used to protect workers and is classified as a workplace accident rather than a traffic crash, Urquhart said. Once the state police, including members of the commercial vehicle enforcement unit, complete the investigation it will be turned over to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has jurisdiction over workplace safety issues. The agency dispatched an investigator to the scene.
Witnesses told police that the truck was making a beeping noise as it backed up.
The deceased, who police did not yet identify, was an equipment operator on the job site but was walking when the accident occurred.
State police also are investigating with the assistance of the York police, the turnpike authority said. The construction zone is in the area of the York River bridge.
This story will be updated
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