Construction worker struck and killed Wednesday on I-80 in Bureau County

A highway maintenance worker was struck by a vehicle and killed Wednesday morning on Intestate 80 westbound near milepost 44, about one-half mile west of the Route 40 exit.

According to Illinois State Police, a 47-year-old Chicago man was standing outside of his maintenance truck, equipped with an arrow board and crash attenuator while assisting with traffic control in the maintenance zone.

A 2002 Red Honda van driven by Robert D. Bowen, 84, of Macomb, for unknown reasons, struck the maintenance worker. The Bureau County Coroner’s Office pronounced the Chicago man dead on scene.

Bowen was transported to a local area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. He was charged with failure to yield the right-of-way to any authorized vehicle or pedestrian working within a highway construction or maintenance zone.

All westbound lanes of I-80 were closed at approximately 10:55 a.m. for the traffic crash investigation. Traffic was rerouted to Route 40 from I-80 westbound. All lanes reopened at around 12:45 p.m.

The investigation continues. Any additional charges are pending further investigation.