SUV driver hits, critically injures road worker west of Prior Lake

A motorist in an SUV hit and critically injured a road worker in Scott County, authorities said.

The incident occurred shortly after noon Monday just west of Prior Lake in Spring Lake Township, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The driver was heading north on Marschall Road, where he struck a worker directing traffic in a work zone north of E. 170th Street, the Sheriff's Office said.

The worker, 59-year-old Ricardo Perez, of Thief River Falls, Minn., was taken to HCMC in critical condition, the Sheriff's Office added.

The work was being carried out by Northwest Asphalt & Maintenance, of Thief River Falls, and involved "annual roadway crack filling maintenance at various locations around Scott County," said Lisa Kohner, a spokeswoman for the county.

The driver, 87-year-old John H. Oellrich, of New Prague, and his passenger were uninjured.

Sheriff Luke Hennen said his office will forward a case for consideration of charges to the County Attorney's Office once the State Patrol has completed its investigation in the months ahead.

From 2015 to 2020 in Minnesota, 49 people have died and more than 4,900 have been injured in work zone traffic crashes, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Those numbers include vehicle occupants, workers or other pedestrians.

Since 1960, there have been 35 state transportation employees and 16 contractors who have died while on the job, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Of those, at least 28 were hit by a vehicle.

The most recent death occurred in October 2018 near Rogers, where a speeding semitrailer truck driver distracted by his cellphone struck contract worker Vernon C. Hedquist, 59, of Pillager, Minn.

The driver, Tate Doom, of St. Paul, was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide and sentenced to a term of four-plus years. He remains in prison until May 2023 before serving the balance of his time on supervised release.