Tuesday, April 16, 2024

The pain of losing a co-worker, friend or family member


Today is the first of a four-part video series that focuses on highway workers and their families. 

KDOT Construction Engineer Kevin Palic, shown above, shares his experience of losing a co-worker in a work zone crash. He was the one who talked to the worker’s parents, to try and explain why their son would not be coming home. 

Numerous photos of highway workers with their families are also included. Motorists may just see the orange cones and the speed limit reductions and not think about the fact there are also highway workers with family members and friends in those work areas – people whose lives would be devastated by a work zone crash. 

Click HERE to watch the safety video.

To all of you who work alongside the highways, thank you for everything you do to construct and maintain our roadways. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.    


8 comments:

  1. I can't even imagine going through that, Kevin. Thank you for sharing. I hope your comments and all those family photos make people see the connection between work zone safety and how many people could be hurt because of a work zone crash.

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  2. Kevin's experience is a harrowing one, but it covers such an important message. A touching reminder for us all to do better when behind the wheel, especially in work zones. Thank you for using your story to make change, Kevin.

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  3. Seeing all the families of roadway workers clearly illustrates how wide of an impact the loss of one life can have. Kevin’s description really shows how the loss of a life affects coworkers when you think about how difficult his conversation with that family must have been. The positive of this is when you make all correct choices when driving thru a work zone you are having a positive impact on hundreds of lives.

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  4. I’m so sad for you and the family. I understand this must’ve been so tough on both sides. It’s been a long time since your rotation in Topeka, but I think about y'all and our crazy work unit. It was a danger we all knew was a possibility in the back of our minds. Prayers to everyone involved.

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  5. Thanks to all of the Heroes that maintain our roadways and provide transportation to our families.

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  6. Great message Kevin. It needs to be told more than one week out of the year.

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  7. Losing a colleague and friend is tough enough. I can’t imagine witnessing it and having to inform their family. Thank you for sharing and for your service.

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  8. Thank you for sharing.

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