SARATOGA SPRINGS — A 35-year-old construction worker who was climbing out of a manhole was struck and killed Friday afternoon by a passing car.
The worker, whose name was not released pending notification of family members, had gone into the manhole to open a waterline that had been turned off while a crew from KD Robinson Construction installed a pressurized irrigation system at a Saratoga Springs home, said deputy Charlie Beeder of the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
Beeder said the worker was holding a water key that extended above the top of the manhole when a car driving eastbound on Harbor Park Drive struck the key and knocked the victim 12 feet down into the bottom of the hole, killing him.
"It appears that the driver didn't see the person," Beeder said.
According to Beeder, the woman driving the vehicle that struck the worker is a resident of a home in the Saratoga Springs Marina area where the irrigation system was being installed.
There appeared to be no warning cones or signs alerting drivers that the worker was inside the manhole, Beeder said.
Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are still investigating the accident, but Beeder said that the driver's speed doesn't appear to have been a factor.
Cory Connin, the director of Cedar Fort EMS who also works for the Saratoga Springs Public Works Department, was in the area when the victim was struck. He entered the manhole within seconds and provided emergency care.
Fire crews from Saratoga Springs, Lehi and Utah County also helped extract the victim from the hole, and a medical helicopter was brought in to transport the victim.
The worker was pronounced dead at the scene, however.
E-mail: lwarner@desnews.com