Road crew worker struck, killed in Iron County
James David DicksonA 57-year-old Iron County Road Commission employee died Wednesday after being hit by a pickup truck and pinned between it and his work vehicle.
The victim, Larry Leonarduzzi, had worked at the road commission for more than seven years, said Doug Tomasoski, an engineer-manager for the commission.
About 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, Leonarduzzi was part of a four-person crew trimming trees on Bates-Amasa Road in Bates Township. Two of the crew members, including Leonarduzzi, were regulating traffic. A lane of the two-way road was closed, forcing both sides to take turns using one lane.
Normally in January, road crews would be out plowing snow, Tomasoski noted. The nicer weather allowed the crew to remove "hazard trees" from near the roadway.
Michigan State Police investigating the crash say a 2005 Ford Ranger, from Wisconsin, "failed to stop in a marked work zone" and struck Leonarduzzi, pinning him between the truck and his work vehicle. He died at the scene.
The driver, a 57-year-old Newald, Wisconsin, man, was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to a hospital in Wausau, Wisconsin, for further treatment.