CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The North Carolina State Highway Patrol will not be filing charges against a driver who hit a construction worker on the I-77 toll lane project.
The construction worker, Cody Sykes, was released from the hospital after he was hit by an SUV Monday afternoon.
State trooper Raymond Pearce said the driver of an SUV was exiting onto the southbound ramp off I-77 onto the Brookshire Freeway when Sykes was hit.
Sykes and some other workers were trying to retrieve some construction barricades when he was hit.
Trooper Pearce says the SUV driver had slowed to exit and will not face charges.
“It appears to just be an unfortunate accident," Pearce said.
A spokesperson for Sugar Creek Construction, the contractor on the project, would not discuss specifics of the accident but said it is, “a good reminder that you need to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings.”
The 26-mile long project has seen its share of accidents since the project began.
Trooper Pearce said part of the reason behind the increase in accidents is the fact that there are no shoulders along the roadway.
“When an accident does happen it does lead to secondary collisions. Have our numbers increased? Yes, they have increased but it is typically expected," he said.
The toll lane project is due to be completed by the end of this year.