DOT worker injured by motorist: 'It's a dangerous job'
Billy Heidler Sr., a DOT worker, was injured on the job. (Advance File Photo)Dodging dangerous drivers who careen through work zones on Staten Island is a daily on-the-job hazard for Billy Heidler Sr., the city Department of Transportation worker says.
"The public doesn't know how much of a dangerous job it is," said Heidler of Great Kills.
He says his luck ran out when he was struck and injured by a motorist while on the job as a DOT highway repairman in Eltingville on the afternoon of July 16.
A woman driving a car on Genesee Avenue near Richmond Avenue ignored the stop sign being held by a DOT worker and hit a barrel near where Heidler was working and crashed into the work zone at about 12:30 p.m., he said. The front tire of her car ran over Heidler's right foot and the rear tire of her car struck his right knee, he said.
"I was in a lot of pain," he recalled.
He was treated at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze and says he will need further medical care for his injuries.
The DOT confirmed that Heidler was injured in a work zone. The NYPD did not have any information about the accident or the driver. An anonymous caller notified the Advance of the accident.
The Heidler family has had more than its share of challenges. Billy Heidler Jr., now 22 and living with his mother in Florida, was born with a rare condition where his eyes didn't form properly.
Heidler has reason to be concerned, because an average of nearly 600 work zone fatalities occur nationwide every year, according to the city DOT website. A total of seven city DOT workers have died in work zone incidents in the last two decades and 22 city DOT workers have been injured in work zones since 2009
City DOT worker Nick Antico of Willowbrook was killed in 2005 when he was hurled 50 feet through the air by a speeding SUV as he worked with an overnight repaving crew in Castleton Corners.
Staten Islander drivers complain about potholes and other poor road conditions, but then risk the lives of the people tasked with solving those problems by disrespecting necessary safety measures at work zones, Heidler believes.
Verbal abuse from motorists is the least of his worries. Many drivers ignore the worker whose job it is to direct traffic safely past the work zone, Heidler said.
"They give you an argument because the road is closed," Heidler said of drivers who often falsely claim that they live or are employed on the street where the work zone is located.
"You got to be watching behind your back constantly," Heidler said.
Virtually every day a driver careens past barrels, warning signs and other safety barriers and into the work zone. If the workers are lucky, the driver speeds away without injuring anybody on the process.
"You'd be surprised how many people go through the barrels when you're working on the road," Heidler said. "It's a dangerous job because people go by you at 50 or 60 miles per hour."