WSDOT worker hit along SR 18 while helping driver having car trouble

KING COUNTY, Wash. — A Washington State Department of Transportation worker was hit by a pickup on Highway 18 Monday morning.

The worker was helping a driver who was having car trouble when he was struck shortly before 6 a.m.

According to the Washington State Patrol, a Nissan Altima was stalled in the second lane of westbound SR 18, west of State Route 167, when a WSDOT Incident Response Team truck arrived with its overhead lights flashing. It stopped behind the Altima and the worker got out of the truck.

At some point, a Nissan Frontier pickup traveling in the second lane hit the WSDOT truck from behind, pushing it into the WSDOT worker and into the disabled Altima.

The Nissan pickup then came to a stop in the first lane.

The driver of the pickup had non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Valley Medical Center.

Troopers said the WSDOT worker was taken to St. Frances Hospital. His injuries were not serious.

The driver of the Nissan pickup, a 65-year-old man, may be charged with negligent driving, according to a report from WSP.

The woman who was in the Nissan Altima was not hurt.

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