Suspected drunk driver accused of hitting and killing freeway worker
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) -- A construction worker for Caltrans was hit by a car and killed on Interstate 580 in Oakland early Saturday morning, CHP said.
Authorities arrested the driver on DUI charges.
The crash, which occurred near the Lakeshore Avenue exit, was reported at 12:17 a.m. Saturday, officials said.
According to the CHP, the driver of a silver Honda Accord lost control of his car and hit a right side wall. The car went across the freeway, and into a construction zone that was coned off, the CHP said.
"So we had a drunk driver who drove into a construction closure and killed someone who was trying to earn a living on the freeway," said CHP Officer Sean Wilkenfeld.
The car hit the worker and hurled him an estimated one hundred feet, said CHP.
The worker died at the scene. The Alameda County Coroner's Office identified him as Miguel Angel Rodriguez Delacruz, 33, of Oakland.
Officials said Delacruz was jackhammering when he was hit. He was a Caltrans subcontractor who was repaving the road, said CHP.
The Honda Accord hit Delacruz, a pickup truck, and a generator before coming to a rest on the on the road, said authorities.
A special CHP accident investigation team with higher training than regular officers, was called in to collect evidence at the scene, said Wilkenfeld.
The name of the driver has not been released, but he was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving.
Three lanes of the left hand side of the roadway was closed until approximately 7:15 a.m. Saturday, said CHP.