By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A highway worker was struck and killed Tuesday while helping on the scene of a car fire on I-55.
Ken Hoiermann, 38, had worked for MoDOT for 15 years, most of that time as a motorist assist worker.
The Highway Patrol says Mary Lott, 69, drove onto a shoulder near a curve, then back onto the road and hit Hoiermann before ending up in a ditch. She was not hurt. An investigation continues.
Motorist assist workers help drivers with car problems along major thoroughfares, but also help emergency crews by removing debris from wrecks and diverting traffic around accident scenes.
This is the second time in a week that a highway worker has been struck and killed. Last Wednesday, a worker from Oklahoma was killed along Highway 40, near I-270. He worked for a subcontractor to MO-DOT.
Both accidents come just days before a new law is to take effect in Missouri that would stiffen penalties for those who speed through construction zones and who fail to yield to emergency vehicles. That change in law occurs Aug. 28.