NC DOT worker killed while on road duty; motorist charged

SIMS, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina Department of Transportation worker was killed when a vehicle struck her as she directed traffic around a fallen tree, the State Highway Patrol said. A motorist was later arrested and charged with fleeing the scene.

Anna Bradshaw, 60, was struck Friday morning by a passenger car while she was holding a sign along U.S. Highway 264 Alternate in Wilson County, according to patrol Trooper Jordan Lamm.

The driver got out of the car and spoke with another DOT worker at the scene and said he hadn’t seen Bradshaw, but left when the worker went to call for help, Lamm said.

The patrol said in an email that Jamari Marquis Powell, 31, of Bailey, was taken into custody late Friday and charged with felony hit and run. Powell was being held Saturday at the Wilson County Jail on a $20,000 bond. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney.

Bradshaw, an 11-year DOT worker, “was a dedicated and hardworking employee in the Wilson County maintenance office and will be missed by her NCDOT family,” DOT spokesperson Andrew Barksdale said Friday. “This is a tragic reminder of how our employees and contractors risk their lives every day serving the public.”