Fatal Accident Involving State Highway Worker Remains Under Investigation
PARKVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A tragic crash that killed a state highway worker remains under investigation.
Linh Bui has the latest.
The State Highway Administration is offering grief counseling for employees. Meantime, state police still have not said what caused the crash.
It was a routine job -- repair a sign along I-695. But Maryland State Police say 61-year-old Mary Levy suddenly veered off the road, hitting and killing 50-year-old state highway worker Eddie Gilyard.
"When I heard that, my heart fell," said Ronald Thompson, neighbor.
Thompson did not want to show his face on camera, but was Gilyard's neighbor for eight years.
"Real nice guy, real polite. He moved in to be with his mom. Hard worker. We'd sit out back, talk, shoot the breeze," he said.
Gilyard was with the State Highway Administration for 25 years.
Right now, the family is busy making funeral arrangements. They say the pain is just too fresh for them to talk about what happened.
Another state highway worker, 38-year-old Nathan Brown, has been released from the hospital.
It's a tragic accident that could have been prevented.
"If you see emergency vehicles on the side of the road -- police, our forces in their yellow trucks or even someone broken down changing a tire -- if you can move over, move over. Give them room. Because tragedies do happen," said Valerie Burnette Edgar, Md. State Highway Administration.
And happen too often. Maryland experiences about 500 traffic fatalities each year. And according to national numbers, highway deaths claimed more than 33,000 lives in 2012 -- an increase from 2011.
"Pay attention. For yourself as well as the workers and the emergency personnel out on the road," Burnette Edgar said.
Transportation officials say December is one of the deadliest months of the year because more people drink and drive.
In the wake of this tragic incident, all state highway personnel had a safety de-briefing Friday morning.
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