A driver believed to have been distracted hit a woman holding a road-works sign in a construction zone Monday in East Bethel, leaving the worker in grave condition, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said.
The victim, a 33-year-old woman from Fergus Falls, was hit about 1:10 p.m. as she stood at the intersection of 7th Street and 237th Avenue NE. She was in "grave" condition when deputies arrived, said Cmdr. Paul Sommer with the Sheriff's Office.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis with life-threatening injuries, he said.
A 19-year-old woman from East Bethel was driving west on 237th Avenue when she struck the worker.
Alcohol does not appear to have played a role in the crash, but "it does appear likely that distracted driving played a role in the accident," Sommer said.
The crash remains under investigation.
Between 2003 and 2015, more than 1,571 workers were killed in road construction zones, or an average of 121 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
