A man doing contract work for the SC Department of Transportation was killed along Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County Wednesday morning. According to the Highway Patrol, the accident happened around 9:55 a.m. near the 83 mile marker on 85 North, near the Cherokee County line.
Jimmy Carter, a co-worker of the victim, says the man was on a 6-person crew doing weedeating along the side of the interstate. The men work for JACCO LLC, a DOT contracting crew out of Robbinsville, NC. "It's heartbreaking," says Carter.
According to the Highway Patrol, a white pickup truck belonging to Tree of Life Landscaping out of Easley lost control, and slid off the road. The truck was hauling a trailer that hit the crew. Three workers were hit in the crash. The deceased victim, identified as 47-year old Apolonio Esteban Ortela,of Greer, was pinned between the two trucks. The two other workers, Pablo Jamillo and Juan Marcos, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Both are expected to be ok.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger says he believes speed and the wet road both played a part in the crash. "You can't ever be too cautious or too careful out here on the side of the highway, especially with these speeds we got."
The Highway Patrol has charged the driver of the pickup, 50 year old Hilario Munoz, with driving too fast for conditions and not having a driver's license. Munoz is being held at the Spartanburg Detention Center. He has a bond hearing scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Thursday. Jeffrey Jeffcoat, the owner of the pickup and landscaping company, has also been charged with allowing an unauthorized driver in his vehicle.
The Department of Transportation does have safety requirements for all its crews, including contractors. Carter says despite every precaution they take, it's not enough. "You got safety vests, you got lights, you got all kinds of requirements that the state requires but people ignore them. When they see it they don't care." He has a message for drivers: slow down. "It's like the state signs say, let 'em work, let 'em live. Well, this man was trying to work and now he's not alive."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement