A 56-year-old Department of Transportation maintenance worker was still in critical condition today, after he was struck by a semi-truck along Interstate 70 northeast of Denver.
Today CDOT identified him as Roger Baxter, who has been with the Colorado Department of Transportation for 12 years.
CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane said Baxter was “clipped” by the semi while walking on the shoulder and suffered multiple injuries.
He was with another CDOT worker cleaning up debris on the shoulder of westbound I-70, about 4 miles east of Watkins, when he was struck by a semi driven by James Pinkston, 59, of Kingman, Kan., State Patrol troopers said.
Baxter is at Swedish Medical Center.
Pinkston was arrested and taken to jail in Adams County.
He could be facing charges of careless driving causing injury, police said.
The crash remains under investigation.
Crane said the worker was wearing required safety gear, including a bright-colored vest and hard hat, when he was struck.
He also was working near a CDOT truck with flashing lights, Crane said.
In August, CDOT worker Charles Mather, 34, of Beulah was killed and another transportation worker was seriously injured when a semi smashed into construction equipment south of Pueblo.
The semi driver, Robin L. Kirkland, struck the back of a Toyota pickup 25 miles south of Pueblo on Interstate 25, crossed a cone barricade and careened into a large rotomilling machine used to resurface asphalt, police said.
In 2004, 1,886 crashes occurred in Colorado work zones resulting in 757 injuries and 14 deaths, according to the most recent statistics compiled by CDOT.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
