Daughter urges drivers to slow down for TDOT crews after father killed on the job

Yahoo

21-04-2025

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Traveling through Knoxville, you may have noticed signs for Work Zone Awareness Week. It's an initiative urging drivers to slow down and share the road with TDOT crews working to repair our roadways. It's a message that the daughter of a TDOT worker who died in a construction zone.
As part of this initiative, TDOT is remembering those killed while working in active construction zones by lining 113 barrels along I-640 as a reminder of the 113 TDOT workers who died in the line of duty in Tennessee.
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'These are people that are trying to get home to their loved ones, just like you are when you're driving,' said TDOT spokesperson, Mark Nagi. 'So when you pass that memorial, maybe give them an extra thought because it's such a dangerous job that our TDOT workers do each and every day.'
Among the barrels is the marker for Carl McGinnis, a TDOT worker who died in a construction zone in 1987. His daughter said she will never forget the day her dad didn't come home.
'These men and women who work these work zones, they have families waiting for them to come home to in the evenings,' she said. 'The day that we got the call that our dad had been in an accident, we didn't know how bad or anything, and just within a matter of hours, our world had been turned upside down because he never made it out of the ER.'
Kathy Collins said her father worked for TDOT for nearly 14 years, but all it took was one moment to change their lives forever.
'The lady was speeding and lost control of her car,' she said. 'He was getting a drink of water and was climbing out of the back of a state truck when she lost control and hit him. He lost consciousness on the scene and never regained.'
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Collins said now her father's story has been used in safety training for new employees, and she urges drivers to stay off their phones, slow down, and look out for the men and women working on our roadways.
'Distracted driving is something we've just seen far too often, and it is the reason for so many crashes that we have,' said Nagi. 'So, motorists needs to do their part, make sure they're concentrating 100% on the task at hand and that is being behind the wheel.'
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