ALAIEDON TWP. — Two Michigan Department of Transportation workers died May 26 after being hit by a vehicle on US 127 in Ingham County, police and a state workers’ union official confirmed.
The Ingham County Sheriff’s Office said a vehicle driven by a 24-year-old DeWitt man lost control shortly before 1:30 p.m. on northbound US 127 near Holt Road and struck two MDOT workers, who died at the scene.
Speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, the sheriff’s office said, and an investigation is ongoing.
The sheriff’s office said the workers, a 49-year-old man and a 51-year-old man, were both from Mason. The DeWitt man was transported to a local hospital where he is listed in critical condition, officials said. The names of the men who were killed are being withheld pending notification of family.
Jacob VanSickle, president of the Michigan State Employees Association, said the vehicle involved was an SUV.
“Today, we are grieving with the family, friends, and coworkers of the MDOT workers who lost their lives while serving the people of Michigan,” VanSickle said in a statement. “We are holding every person impacted by this tragedy close in our hearts,”
“MDOT workers show up every day to keep our roads safe and our state moving. They do hard, dangerous work, often just feet away from traffic moving at highway speeds. No one should go to work and not come home.”
Northbound US 127 was shut down following the crash, but reopened about 6:30 p.m.
The Delhi Township and Mason fire departments and MMR Ambulance assisted at the scene, as did the Ingham Regional Crash Investigation Team, which included members from the Meridian Township and Michigan State University police department.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Deputy Martin at (517) 676-8444 ext. 1957.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Two MDOT workers killed in US 127 crash near Holt
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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