WAKE COUNTY. N.C. – A man was murdered Friday morning on I-40 eastbound in Wake County. It occurred about 4 a.m., near mile marker 307 south of Clayton Bypass.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP), the guy is Kevarus N. Bowens, 45, of Lumberton, North Carolina.
According to NCSHP, Bowens was standing in the median on I-40, removing a lane closure sign that had previously informed traffic of an approaching construction zone and restricted the left lane. After removing the sign, he attempted to cross the eastbound lanes but was struck by a car. Bowens was hit a second time by a different motorist after falling to the pavement.
While the NCSHP stated that the construction zone was no longer operational at the time of the accident, workers had long had concerns about road safety. According to data published by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, there were 891 work zone deaths in 2022, with an estimated 37,000 injuries.
“The US rates are much higher than they should be, especially when compared to other industrialized, advanced countries,” said Bradley Sant, Senior Vice President of Safety and Education of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
Sant added that officials examine a variety of considerations when selecting when and how roadwork is undertaken, but he feels there are safer ways to approach the process.
“Instead of traveling for a month through restricted lanes and gridlock, we’ve got a long weekend when it’s entirely closed and you’re forced to find alternate ways, but then it’s over. It’s a higher-quality job that is frequently safer for both workers and drivers. So a complete highway shutdown is preferable,” added Sant.
He also advised finding various measures to segregate workers from motorists.
“We try to create opportunities to have more positive separation barriers between the workers and traffic when possible,” Sant added.
Bowens worked for Stay Alert Safety Services, which is affiliated with S. T. Wooten, who is working on road improvements along that section of Interstate. Troopers say he was wearing a reflector vest and his work car was parked on the shoulder with its amber caution lights turned on.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation issued a statement expressing sadness over the death of a transportation contract worker while working on a project on Interstate 40 East near U.S. 70 in Wake County. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the worker’s family. He was employed by Stay Alert Safety Services, a traffic control business subcontracting for S.T. Wooten as part of the I-40 expansion project.
According to the NCSHP, neither speed nor impairment is suspected to have contributed to the incident. There have been no charges filed. The collision is still under investigation.
Following the disaster, at least two further accidents occurred near the area.