Unexpected emergencies can unfold in seconds

Keith Hubler, center, is pictured with his wife, Sheena, and his father, Carl.

In highway maintenance, we prepare for traffic, equipment issues and changing weather. What we can’t always prepare for are the unexpected emergencies that unfold in seconds. 

My name is Keith Hubler, I have worked for KDOT since 2019. I started as an Equipment Operator and currently serve as Highway Maintenance Superintendent in Clay Center.  As a superintendent, I rely heavily on the leadership of my subarea supervisors and the professionalism of our crews. 

Not too long ago, I received a call from a subarea supervisor, a call nobody ever wants to receive. “We’ve had an incident in our work zone on I-70.”  My mind raced. Was the crew OK? Was the public safe? 

According to his account, the crew was working in the driving lane with a standard mobile setup; patch truck in operation, crash attenuator and a trail vehicle pulling a flashing “Road Work Ahead” sign trailer to alert approaching traffic. It was a typical workday: High visibility, proper signage and standard safety protocols in place. 

Then, without warning, a motorist approaching the work zone began to behave erratically. The driver drifted into the median, nearly striking the overpass guardrail. The motorist then overcorrected, crossing back over the roadway and off the right-hand shoulder, narrowly missing the trail vehicle and the flashing sign trailer. 

As the supervisor relayed the details to me, it became clear just how close the situation had been to becoming a catastrophic work zone crash. A matter of feet separated our crew from what could have been a serious collision. 

The supervisor indicated that one of our newly hired crew members quickly went to check on the driver while another crew member called 911. That quick response speaks volumes about the culture of safety and responsibility our supervisors work hard to instill. Even in an active work zone, with traffic continuing to move, the team acted decisively and professionally. 

It was thought that the driver had experienced a medical emergency. Emergency responders arrived promptly. Kansas Highway Patrol officers secured the scene, and an ambulance arrived with staff providing medical assistance and extricating the driver. Following the incident, the crew completed witness statements as requested by law enforcement. 

As I sat by the roadside digesting the phone call I had just received, I found myself reflecting on how unpredictable roadside operations truly are. We focus heavily on traffic control plans, equipment placement, lighting and personal protective equipment—and rightly so.

But this incident was not caused by distraction or reckless driving. It appears to have been a medical emergency, something entirely outside the realm of normal driver behavior and beyond the control of our crew. 

From a leadership standpoint, what stands out most is how the team responded. The subarea supervisor maintained control of the scene. The crew followed protocol, contacted emergency services and continued to prioritize safety for both motorists and workers. There was no panic, only action. 

Incidents like this reinforce why we emphasize training and situational awareness at every level. A work zone on a high-speed corridor such as I-70 leaves little margin for error. When a vehicle enters that space in an unpredictable manner, the consequences can escalate quickly. In this case, preparedness, alertness and a measure of good fortune prevented what could have been a far more serious outcome. 

As a superintendent, I often receive calls about equipment repairs, completed projects and routine maintenance accomplishments. This call was different. It served as a reminder that our crews are exposed to risks that go beyond potholes and pavement conditions. Every vehicle that approaches a work zone carries unknown variables. 

I am proud of how my supervisor and the crew handled this situation. Their professionalism made it possible for the driver to receive prompt medical attention and for safety in the work zone to remain a priority under rapidly changing circumstances. 

Highway maintenance is about more than infrastructure, it’s about people. And on that afternoon near Abilene, the actions of our team demonstrated exactly why strong leadership and well-trained crews matter. 

 

A challenge that could have cost him his life

Technical Trooper Phillip Metzen

I’m Technical Trooper Phillip Metzen with the Kansas Highway Patrol’s Troop I. On Dec. 1, 2025, after serving the state of Kansas for 11 years, I faced a new challenge within my career that almost cost me my life.

I responded to the scene of a non-injury crash on Highway K-96 in Wichita involving three motorists. Light snow was falling at the time, causing slick road conditions. I positioned my patrol car on the inside lane of the highway with my emergency lights activated to provide protection for the disabled vehicles involved in the crash. As I was relaying my location to dispatch, prior to exiting my vehicle, my patrol car was suddenly struck from behind.

I responded to the crash to help others, but within just nine seconds of stopping, I was the one who needed help.

The impact pushed my patrol car nearly 100 feet forward, despite it being in park. During the collision, my head struck the driver’s side visor and a mounted camera. I was then thrown back into the driver’s seat, which broke backwards, causing me to strike the pillar between the driver’s side doors.

The crash investigation revealed that the vehicle which struck my patrol car had failed to slow down and began sliding out of control several hundred feet back. The vehicle crossed three lanes of traffic before colliding with my patrol car.

As a result of the crash, I sustained multiple injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and labrum tear in my shoulder, which will affect me for the rest of my life. I am also still experiencing symptoms from the concussion I suffered and have ongoing medical appointments to aid recovery.

Working in law enforcement is dangerous, and I know the risks I face every day on the job. This was not the first time I’ve been struck by a motorist on the roadway; it was the third time since I began my career in 2015. If this crash had occurred just a few seconds later, I would have been outside of my patrol car, and I might not be here today to tell my story.

That is why I urge every driver to slow down when they see emergency lights ahead. It doesn’t matter if those lights belong to a police vehicle, a KDOT vehicle, an ambulance, a fire truck or a tow truck.

Life moves fast. Slow down so it doesn’t end too soon.

Never forget: Every day is a gift

Andréa Barnes at work (above) and at home (below).

 My name is Andréa Barnes, and I’m the Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Louisburg. I have worked for KDOT since 2001 and have had several close calls. Each one makes me realize how each day is a gift.

I love my job at KDOT and absolutely understand I am putting my life on the line to make improvements to the road. I don’t let my guard down and am continuously looking for an escape route. When I hear an air horn, I am getting out the way because in my world, that means we are about to get hit. In my opinion, the people who work on the roads are heroes, putting their lives on the line for the safety of others.

In March 2011, the Louisburg crew was patching potholes on U.S. 169.  I was in the lead truck with another co-worker. We had a pickup truck hooked to the patch trailer. It was a mobile work zone, so there was a dump truck with an attenuator right behind me and an arrow board about a quarter mile back from the attenuator truck.

I had just flipped my shovel over with cold patch when I heard the air horn. I looked at the operator in the attenuator truck to see which way I should run. He pointed to his left, which was in another lane of traffic.

I started to run when I heard my co-worker fall. I turned, grabbed his shoulders and pulled with all I had. After the full-size truck hit the attenuator, it spun the dump truck around on the passenger’s side. As I pulled my coworker, I saw the truck sliding sideways, missing his legs by only a foot.

The worker in the attenuator had terror in his eyes and said he couldn’t move.  I told him I would direct traffic around us until others arrived. I then saw the employee I dragged out of the way checking on the guy who hit our truck.

We talk frequently about how to warn the workers in front of the truck. In fact, I trained that attenuator truck driver. He was new, but he understood how important his job was. In my opinion, he did everything right and saved my life that day. He had the airbrakes set and turned the drive wheels toward the ditch. He was paying attention and pulled the air horn to alert us as soon as he realized he was going to be hit.

I remember him saying, “I thought I was going to watch you all die.” I told him because he honked the horn quickly, we had time to react and get away.

The guy who hit the truck was shaken up and said he was sorry. At the time, I didn’t want to hear that. I had a connection with these employees, and sorry just wasn’t enough.

On top of this, while directing traffic, a mini van parked on the shoulder. I told the guy he couldn’t stop there. But he screamed at me that his son was in the attenuator truck, and he needed to make sure he was OK.

So, I had him park at the top of the ramp, then helped his son get out of the attenuator truck. His father was in tears. He heard on the police scanner a KDOT truck was hit and knew his son was working there. Nothing was stopping him from checking on his son.  

We found out the driver was checking his Blackberry for emails; he looked up and there was nothing he could do. He hit us at 65 mph, and he never hit the brakes.

This incident affected him too. As I was pulling my co-worker out of the way, I remember seeing his face. He looked completely terrified. He later told people in Missouri at a rally to ban texting and driving that he remembered the look on our faces. He said he would not want to live with the fact if he had killed two highway workers.

It is now 15 years later, and I can still recall what people said, how it felt as the truck slid by us and the absolute fear I had inside of me. I went home that night and kissed and hugged my kids and told them, “You know I love you, right?”

I then fell apart while my partner just held me. We raised five wonderful kids and one of them is special needs, who didn’t understand why I was upset. But he knew I did everything in my power to come home each night to them. I was needed, loved and cared for by my family.

A headline might say, “Highway worker killed,” but it doesn’t include all the people in my life who love and need me. I survived that day, but others haven’t been so lucky. I am grateful things worked out, but highway workers shouldn’t have to pay with our lives. I will be forever changed by a choice someone else made.

While driving, and especially in work zones, remember that phone call, text message or email can wait. Pay attention; it is not worth killing someone. Our jobs are hard enough without having to live in constant fear.

I am now a supervisor myself, and my main goal is that all my employees go home safely every day. We are the hands that fill the potholes, the ones who repair the signs and plow the snow. Follow the signs and be alert. We shouldn’t have to pay for your bad choices.