Freeway Construction Worker Killed In DUI Crash

BALDWIN PARK, Calif. (AP) — The California Highway Patrol says a Southern California freeway worker has been struck and killed by a drunken driver who drove his sport utility vehicle through highway construction barricades.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 10 in Baldwin Park, just east of downtown Los Angeles, were shut down more than seven hours. The freeway reopened at 6:15 a.m. Thursday.

CHP Officer Kerri Rivas says 21-year-old Connor McDermott Penhall of Corona was part of a contract construction crew when he was struck down and killed by the Toyota Rav4 at 11:45 p.m.

Investigators say 37-year-old Tatsuhiko Sakamoto drove through barricades and struck Penhall before slamming into construction equipment.

The CHP says Sakamoto failed a sobriety test and the Arcadia man is in jail, where he was booked for investigation of drunken driving.