SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Authorities are strongly urging drivers to use more caution after the death of a MoDOT worker who was hit by a semi-truck near Sedalia this week.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol and construction workers want drivers to pay attention and give them space to work.

”Don’t just look at the signs and see that there are signs. They’re there to keep the construction worker safe,” said Jeremy Willcock with Hartman and Company Construction.

Willcock didn’t start working in the industry yesterday. He’s been on the job for years. So, he knows the dangers that come with the work.

“If you don’t know what it’s like, walk up next to a highway at some point, and you can actually feel the vibration from the vehicles, especially the 18 wheelers,” he says.

The new plea for caution comes after the recent death of 60-year-old Jay Bone. The MoDOT worker hit and killed. The driver, however, is just 18 years old.

“It’s concerning to us that we talk about this every year. We offer training, but we do not see the trends moving in the right direction, in a safer direction,” said Willcock.

Missouri’s Move Over Law requires drivers to change lanes when approaching any emergency vehicles or MoDOT vehicles when it’s safe.

”Its intent is to provide, you know, safety and security,” said Sgt. Mike McClure with Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop D.

State troopers say whether you see workers on site or not, reduced speed limits are still in effect.

“Speed Limit through that zone is active, 24/7. But it becomes crucial when we have those construction workers present on site, then the fines go up if you are in violation of particularly the speed limit,” said Sgt. McClure.

The construction worker says the solution isn’t as simple as wearing high-visibility gear. Willcock says the solution is for drivers to pay attention while out on the road.

“There are a lot of signs out there through work zones, and a lot of them are repetitive, but they’re there and repetitive for a reason.”

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JASPER COUNTY, Mo. (KCTV) – An Olathe man was seriously injured in an early Friday morning crash in Jasper County, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said 24-year-old Jake Monaco was the driver of a 2009 Infiniti G37 that went off the left side of Interstate 44 and hit an embankment just after midnight Friday morning.

MSHP said Monaco’s vehicle overturned, ejecting him from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt according to the crash report.

The 24-year-old from Olathe crashed 6.5 miles west of Sarcoxie, Missouri. He was taken by emergency medical staff to a hospital.

The crash happened at 12:15 a.m. Friday, MSHP said.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

ALMA, Kan. (WIBW) – A woman was taken into custody Thursday after a kidnapped child from Missouri who was the subject of an Amber Alert was rescued in Wabaunsee County, authorities said.

The rescue was reported to have occurred at 8:17 p.m. Thursday at the E. Spring Creek Road on-ramp to westbound Interstate 70 near Paxico in Wabaunsee County.

Authorities said an Amber Alert had been issued by the Missouri State Highway Patrol after a 12-year-old child was reported to have been kidnapped from Warsaw, Mo.

The child was reported to have been taken without permission by the non-custodial biological mother, officials said.

Wabaunsee County sheriff’s units, were joined by Alma City Marshal Mike Baker as they located the suspect vehicle.

The child was located unharmed. Authorities then took the child into police protective custody.

A woman identified as Anna Savard, 36, of Boise, Idaho, was taken into custody by Wabaunsee County sheriff’s deputies without further incident. Officials on Friday said Savard was being held in the Wabaunsee County Jail in Alma pending extradition warrants from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri.

Also assisting were the Kansas Highway Patrol; Missouri Highway Patrol; Kansas Juvenile Intake; Warsaw, Mo., Police Department; and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri, officials said.

Copyright 2024 WIBW. All rights reserved.