Three construction accidents claimed lives on Utah roadways in the span of three days o during the first weekend of August 2011. Two of the workers died when they were struck by cars, the third was killed by a piece of construction equipment.

The first accident occurred on Thursday, August 4, when Aaron Simms, a temporary employee as Nielson Construction, was killed while pulling weeds in front of the company’s offices. The driver, Jamie Lynn Mercurio, drifted to the opposite shoulder of the road and hit him. There is no word on whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the accident.

The second accident happened on Saturday, August 6, when Linda Potter, a flagger for Nielson Construction, was struck and killed while directing traffic through a single-lane construction zone. In this instance drugs and alcohol were involved. Luke Shroyer struck Potter with his pickup truck and kept going. When the police caught him, he said that he thought he’d struck a deer. He also failed a field sobriety test with a blood-alcohol level of .119. He was arrested for automobile homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, as well he should.

The final accident of the weekend happened Saturday night when Luis O. Aragon, of Construction Material Recycling, was backed over by a dump truck. He was part of the rotomilling team – a rotomill grinds down the road surface and deposits the pieces into a dump druck. Somehow, Aragon got between the mill and the dump truck. Authorities investigated the accident, but issued no citations, and shut the project down for the night.

Metier Law Firm – Denver Accident Attorneys