Road safety worker dies after being hit by two drivers while crossing I-40 in Wake County

WAKE COUNTY. N.C. (WTVD) -- A man was hit and killed Friday morning on I-40 eastbound in Wake County. It happened around 4 a.m. near mile marker 307 south of Clayton Bypass.

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP), the man was identified as Kevarus N. Bowens, 45, of Lumberton, NC.

NCSHP said Bowens was standing in the median along I-40 where he had been removing a lane closure sign, which previously warned drivers of an upcoming work zone and closed left lane. After removing the sign, he attempted to cross the eastbound lanes and was hit by a driver. Bowens was then hit a second time by a different driver after falling onto the pavement.

While NCSHP said it was no longer an active work zone at the time of the crash, road safety has long been an issue for workers. Data compiled by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse found there were 891 work zone deaths in 2022 and an estimated 37,000 work zone injuries.

"The US rates are much higher than they should be, especially compared to other industrialized, advanced countries," said Bradley Sant, Senior Vice President of Safety and Education for American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Sant noted officials take into consideration plenty of factors when determining when and how roadwork is performed, though believes there are safer ways to address the process.

"Instead of driving for a month past closed lanes and built up traffic, we've got a long weekend where it's closed completely and you're having to find alternative routes, but then it's done. It's a better-quality job, often safer for both the workers and the motorists. And so full route closure is ideal," said Sant.

Broadly, he also suggested finding other ways to separate workers from motorists.

"We try to create opportunities to have more positive separation barriers between the workers and traffic when possible," said Sant.

Bowens was employed by Stay Alert Safety Services in affiliation with S. T. Wooten who is doing road construction in that stretch of the interstate. Troopers said he was wearing a reflective vest, and his work vehicle was parked on the shoulder with the amber warning lights on.

North Carolina Department of Transportation released a statement, saying:
"NCDOT is heartbroken to share that a transportation contract worker was struck and killed today while working on a project on Interstate 40 East near U.S. 70 Business in Wake County. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the worker, who was employed by Stay Alert Safety Services, a traffic control firm subcontracting for S.T. Wooten as part of the I-40 widening project."

NCSHP said neither speed nor impairment are believed to be factors in the crash. No charges have been filed. The crash remains under investigation.

At least two accidents also happened close to the scene following the crash.