3 workers die in Pennsylvania highway construction zone crash

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Three construction workers were killed early Wednesday morning when a large box truck entered an active work zone on I-83 in Fairview Township, Pennsylvania, according to state police.

The truck, driven by Reed Davenport, 24, collided with a construction vehicle inside the work zone around 3 a.m. and entered the shoulder of the highway, where it then struck the construction workers, who were sealing highway cracks, AP News reported. Other details, such as the speed Davenport was traveling when he hit the workers, has not been released. 

The workers were pronounced dead at the scene, and have yet to be identified.

The collision coincided with “Go Orange Day,” encouraging citizens to wear bright orange as part of PennDOT’s Work Zone Awareness Week, designed to encourage careful driving around roadway work zones. 

In Pennsylvania, interstate construction zones on projects above $300,000 are equipped with speed-monitoring devices to alert drivers of their speed before they pass through the work zone.

Motorists in the state can lose their license for recklessly driving through a work zone. Fines are doubled for speeding, driving under the influence and failure to obey traffic devices in work zones. 

Plus, Pennsylvania drivers convicted of homicide by vehicle for a crash in a work zone face up to five additional years of jail time.  

Last month, a driver was sentenced for 18 months for his role in a high-profile work zone crash near Baltimore in March 2023 that killed six construction workers. Melachi Brown pleaded guilty to six charges of manslaughter for the collision in which his car, traveling 121 mph on I-695, clipped Lisa Lea, who was traveling 108 mph. Lea’s trial is scheduled for this month.

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