Warrant: Driver drank, took drugs before April crash that injured workers
WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- New warrants show what a driver said she had to drink on April 19, the same day she hit two Department of Transportation Workers on I-440, leaving one of the workers without his legs.
According to a search warrant, Angela Renee Roland, 44, of Morrisville told police she also took prescription drugs, including a sedative.
ORIGINAL STORY: 2 DOT workers in hospital after being hit on I-440
The crash happened on the side of I-440 East at Capital Boulevard just before 1:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon. Two DOT workers were outside picking up debris near their yellow truck with flashing warning lights that was parked on the shoulder.
Both workers were injured when Roland struck them with her vehicle, though one was injured more severely.
READ MORE: DOT worker hit by driver had to have legs amputated
Darrick Bridges, 44, was struck and pinned between the car and an N.C. DOT truck. Kelly Lewis, 46, was struck by the car and knocked over a highway guardrail.
Bridges had to have both of his legs amputated.
According to the search warrant released Friday, Roland never braked or veered away from the DOT vehicle.
Police said she also told authorities she fell asleep at the wheel, and that she had stopped drinking on her fourth or fifth beer at 5:30 a.m. that same day. The beers were on top of the prescription drugs she said she took at 2 a.m.
DOT officials said this is just one example of the troubling trend of work-zone deaths and injuries.
"This is just another example of the tragedies that can happen in work-zone accidents, because you have unprotected workers with drivers quite often not paying attention," said DOT spokesperson Steve Abbott. "We need drivers to slow down, know their surroundings, don't be distracted and get out of the way if they can when they go through a work-zone."
The DOT said so far this year, there have been nearly 1,000 work-zone injuries and 10 deaths. That death count is already ahead of last year's pace.
