Neighbors react to tragic crash killing construction worker

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - A 65-year-old Elkhart man was hit and killed while he was a flagman at a construction site off of State Road 931 between Osborne and New Road’s Tuesday morning.

The driver is now behind bars and is facing a charge of driving a vehicle while intoxicated and causing a death and is being blood tested.

The road was closed off for much of the day while crews worked on this investigation. The worker was pronounced dead on the scene.

Last month ABC57 reported another roadside worker who tragically died, this one in Benton Township just showing how dangerous it can be to work along roads.

“I’ve lived here 40 something years and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Geraldine Nettrouer, one neighbor said.

US 931 is not known by neighbors as a dangerous road.

“Not this bad, never this bad. Nothing like that has ever happened,” she said. “That’s really scary.”

But today, a crash led to one construction worker’s death.

The Elkhart man was 65 years old.

His life, cut short after a driver failed to change lanes and hit him while he working as a flagman.

The St. Joseph Prosecutors Office stating there were cones as well as an arrow indicating drivers to merge to the left.

The man accused is 54-year-old Gary Carnicom. He has been booked into the St. Joseph County Jail on a charge of driving a vehicle while intoxicated and causing death and is being blood tested.

He was driving a tan van.

The far-right lane was closed for construction while crews have been working on the electric lines.

“It’s just a tragedy, they’ve been working out here for quite a while so it’s not like a pop-up road construction,” Aaron Moser, another neighbor said. “They’ve been redoing the electrical for about a year now.”

Indiana Michigan Power released this statement saying “on behalf of the I&M family, we would like to express our condolences to the family, friends and coworkers affected by this tragic event.”

Some construction workers even commented on Facebook talking about the problem of people not paying attention and risking other’s lives.

And nearby residents just want to warn others to slow down.

“Absolute tragedy. We need to slow down out there, pay attention what’s going on, watch for road signs,” Moser said.

“It’s sad. Really sad. And people ought to pay more attention to what they’re doing. That’s why we have signs and when you’re driving you have to be responsible,” Nettrouer said.

The FACT team is still investigating.