BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. – Tennessee OSHA says it is investigating after a traffic control worker was struck and killed on I-75 in Bradley County on Thursday.

TDOT reports that this temporarily closed I-75 at mile marker 20 Thursday morning.

TOSHA says they are investigating the circumstances that led to the worker’s death. TOSHA says…

“During the investigative process, the TOSHA investigator typically examines the site of the incident, reviews company records and procedures, and conducts interviews with management and employees. To ensure the integrity of the investigation, TOSHA is not releasing preliminary information about the incident. When the investigation is completed, the report containing the agency’s detailed findings will be available for review by the citizens of Tennessee.”

According to experts in the field, situations are simply too common. AAA’s Megan Cooper tells us…

“It’s a very dangerous job. We know that approximately every year 23 road workers are killed and many, many more are injured while working on the side of the road.”

A technical report from Roadway Systems and Drivers examined OSHA between 2002 and 2017, examining all reported deaths and injuries and concluding that…

“A total of 106 tow driver injuries or deaths, including 39 where the tow driver was a pedestrian who was struck by a passing vehicle.”

However, according to Cooper, this is where the key word is reported

“We have found that it is very likely that these incidents are under-reported and that they are very, very bad at the interstate level. That’s where we see a lot of these incidents happening.”

Cooper says most of these incidents are preventable.

“Many drivers are distracted and impaired,” Cooper said. “Many of these happen in bright, good weather, which shows us that people don’t always pay close attention to what’s happening on the side of the road.”

Still, Cooper says those numbers can and will go down, and it’s up to the drivers on the roads to do so.

“You know these types of laws exist. It’s just a matter of following through and remembering to do what you’re supposed to do when you’re driving.”

The identity of the deceased worker has not been released by TDOT or TOSHA.

TOSHA tells us the worker was employed by Superior Traffic Control. We asked her for comment.

TOSHA says a death investigation can take up to six months.