LACY LAKEVIEW (September 18, 2012)--A highway worker who was struck by an 18-wheeler early Tuesday as he worked along Interstate 35 in Lacy Lakeview died at a local hospital.
Manuel Rivas, 42, of Houston, was pronounced dead by an emergency room physician at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.
Department of Public Safety trooper D.L. Wilson said at around 2:10 a.m. Tuesday Rivas was working on the highway near mile marker 342 when the northbound 18-wheeler struck him.
Other workers at the site said the driver of a brown or dark tan Ford dually pickup pulled alongside the truck-tractor and tried to get the driver’s attention so he would stop, but was unable to do so.
Troopers notified Lacy Lakeview officers and police in West and Hillsboro, but the truck-tractor could not be located.
Wilson said anyone with information about the pickup truck or the 18-wheeler is asked to call the DPS communications office at (254) 759-7131.
Rivas' body was taken to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science, in Dallas, for autopsy.
Wilson said Rivas was working for a construction company that is contracted to the Texas Department of Transportation.
