AIKEN, SC (WBTW) – Two SCDOT workers are dead and another crew member was injured Monday morning after a driver left the roadway and hit the employees, a press release says.
The SCDOT says the workers were struck while working on the shoulder on Augusta Road in Aiken County around 8:32 a.m.
The victims were identified as 54-year-old Tony Redmond and 64-year-old Robert Clark from Aiken County Maintenance. Redmond had been employed by SCDOT since 1996 and Clark had been with the SCDOT since 2012.
Officials say the third worker suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall says the agency is stunned by the incident.
“Our SCDOT family has suffered the loss of two of our team members this morning. While we mourn these losses, I would urge all South Carolinians to be cautious at all times while on the roads, and use extra care when approaching work zones. The men and women of SCDOT are dedicated public servants and we want them all to return home each night to their families,” said Hall in the press release. “Our hearts go out to the families and co-workers of Tony Redmond and Robert Clark during this terrible time.”
News13’s sister station, WJBF, reports authorities believe a tan Pontiac Grand Prix traveling northbound is connected to the incident. Investigators located the suspected car with damage associated with a collision, but the driver was not in the vehicle.
Monday evening, Lonnie Dean Miller was arrested in connection to the accident and charged with one count of leaving the scene involving an injury and two counts of leaving the scene involving a death.
SCDOT reports 35 incidents when SCDOT employees have been killed on the job. Since 2007, six SCDOT workers lost their lives. Three of those deaths occurred in 2015 and 2016, the press release says.
