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Speeding car narrowly misses workers in construction zone

Three cars in total were involved in this incident, according to police. (Allan Barilla/Facebook - image credit)
Three cars in total were involved in this incident, according to police. (Allan Barilla/Facebook - image credit)

A construction crew working near Maymont, Sask., could only watch and try to get out of the way as a speeding car drove erratically toward them in a closed lane.

Allan Barilla, the general manager of the construction company at the site, said it was a scary moment.

"I never expected this guy to be coming up as fast as he did on me and I was just deciding which way I had to run," he said.

"Because if he would have kept going straight, he would have ran right into my truck."

WATCH | Erratic driver rips through construction zone

Warman RCMP responded to the call Monday at around 2 p.m. CST. A red car was driving "at a high rate of speed" according to a news release from police. The car narrowly missed workers who were doing some paving work.

Barilla said he had actually initially called RCMP to report another driver in a white truck trying to pass the line of cars in the closed lane. RCMP were already on their way when the driver in the red car showed up.

The car eventually hit another red car, propelling it into the ditch, and then sideswiped a black car. Eventually, the 21-year-old driver of the first red car hit the ditch and rolled. He was transported to hospital. No one sustained life-threatening injuries, police said.

Allan Barilla/Facebook
Allan Barilla/Facebook

"You never know what's coming at you. If there's somebody intoxicated, or impaired, or sick, or having a heart attack, or stroke. Like, you don't know," Barilla said.

"And we have no protection. I've said this before, I tell our crew the only protection we have is paint and plastic."

Two members of Barilla's crew could not hear the radio calls during the incident, and Barilla said they could have been hit had the one crew member not forgotten her tape measure off to the side. The driver also had hit a cone just before reaching the place they were standing, and the sound alerted them to the car, Barilla said.

"We're trusting people to stay on their side [of the cones]," he said. "You're hoping [people] are paying attention and doing what they're supposed to be doing."

Barilla said he wants people to have more patience. He said if a construction zone is six kilometres long and the speed has been reduced to 60 km/h, it adds less than five minutes to your trip to slow down and keep people safe.

The investigation into this incident is ongoing. There has been no update on whether charges have been laid against the driver.