A New Mexico Department of Transportation worker was killed when a driver struck the state-owned truck the worker was standing in while conducting traffic control due to a crash north of Clovis on Thursday.
Officer Ray Wilson, a New Mexico State Police spokesman, said 58-year-old Gerald Woodard was pronounced dead at the scene and the 69-year-old driver who killed him was airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital in critical condition.
He said the driver’s current condition is unknown.
“Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the crash, and seat belts were not properly used,” Wilson said.
The crash remains under investigation by State Police, he said.
State Police Chief Tim Johnson, in a statement, said Woodard’s death was “a tragic reminder of the dangers that our transportation workers face every day.”
“Our hearts go out to his family,” he said. “We remind drivers to always be aware of their surroundings, obey traffic laws, and never drive distracted or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
State Police were called around 11 a.m. to investigate the crash on N.M. 209 near milepost 6.
Wilson said at the time of the incident the DOT was providing traffic control around a two-vehicle crash using cones, a truck with flashing lights and flags.
He said “for reason still under investigation” the driver of a truck didn’t follow the traffic pattern and crashed into a DOT pickup.
“Woodard was in the bed area of the truck at the time of the collision and suffered fatal injuries,” Wilson said.
