Asphalt worker struck, killed in Lovejoy
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Lovejoy Police said the driver who hit 29-year-old Justin Bagley stopped and is cooperating with investigators.
"It's early in the investigation but it appears this was just a tragic accident," said Lovejoy Police Chief Michael Gaddis.
Authorities had to shut down a stretch of Tara Boulevard in Lovejoy for hours as they investigated the death of an asphalt worker who was struck around 3:40 Tuesday morning.
Chief Gaddis said it appears the Wall Asphalt crew did everything they were supposed to do to alert drivers of the repaving work underway overnight on the northbound lanes of Tara Boulevard near Lovejoy Road.
"They had two trucks blocking the road and an officer trailing behind them with blue lights going. The driver said once he went around those trucks at the appropriate time, he didn't see the worker and accidentally struck and killed him," said Chief Gaddis.
According to Lovejoy Police, Justin Bagley of Alabama, 29, was struck by Ray Byrum of Griffin, who was driving a red Ford pickup truck. Byrum stopped and is cooperating with police. Investigators from Georgia State Patrol have not indicated if Byrum will be charged.
As an OSHA investigator evaluated the crash scene hours after the deadly accident, the owner of wall asphalt told Bruner off camera Bagley was a kind and hard-working young man who just joined the company this Spring.
"It's just awful. Everybody on the crew liked him. He was just a genuinely nice fellow who worked really hard for us," said the man who asked not to be identified by name.
Chief Gaddis said he hopes this tragic accident will be a sobering reminder to everyone behind the wheel.
All drivers need to take extra precautions and be on the lookout for the people who work on the sides of the roads and highways at road construction sites. You have vehicles with emergency lights and lots of different emergency signals, so it's just important to be use caution around these workers at all times," said Gaddis.