ODOT worker hit, killed by car on HWY 75

RAMONA, Okla. - An Oklahoma Department of Transportation worker is hit and killed on the job. The agency has lost more employees in the line of duty than any other state agency. The accident happened about 8:30 Wednesday morning on Highway 75 near Ramona, just south of the Walmart Distribution Center.

ODOT construction crews were performing routine surface improvements on Southbound Highway 75. 42-year-old Ira Lee Henderson was pulling up raised pavement markers and filling in the area with asphalt. Henderson was working on the left lane facing away from traffic, with the right lane open. That's when 18-year-old Deven Wayne Franklin of Skiatook was driving a red Pontiac Grand AM.

Franklin veered into the left lane, striking Henderson and instantly killing him. The driver didn't stop. "The red car at that time moved over to his right and struck another vehicle coming through the construction zone," says Lieutenant Buddy Lambert with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Lambert says it doesn't appear Franklin had been using drugs or alcohol. They do suspect he was having a diabetic episode, which Lambert says can make a person incoherent.

ODOT and OHP officials say construction signs and cones were clearly positioned in the work zone, and that workers were following their strict safety guidelines. "The construction zones were all marked. They were all wearing reflective gear. There were signs set up a half mile to a mile north of the construction zone warning drivers," says Lambert.

The driver of the Pontiac Grand AM was taken to the hospital. Lieutenant Lambert says he could face charges of negligent homicide.

This marks the 56th employee to be killed on the job since ODOT's existence 100 years ago.