A local couple wants justice after a driver ran over a construction worker in Sabraton then fled the scene Monday afternoon.
Tammy Gibson, whose husband Scott has been working on the repaving project on Earl L. Core Road in Sabraton, said she experienced every wife’s worst nightmare that day when she began getting messages that her husband had been hit and was told he was unresponsive.
When Scott didn’t respond to her calls and messages she said, “I knew something had happened with my husband and then I hit the floor and just prayed and screamed and yelled.”
Tammy said when she finally saw Scott’s name on her caller ID she was afraid it wasn’t going to be him on the other end of the line.
“I thought I lost my world that day – my ride or die – my best friend,” she said.
Amber Lohr said she was sitting in the traffic when the incident occurred and recounted what she and her mother witnessed.
“A black hatchback car hit a worker, almost running him completely over,” she said. “[The driver] took off and got blocked in the Wesbanco parking lot by the traffic coming down Hartman Run Road.”
Lohr said the driver then “left his car in drive when he got out to walk towards the workers surrounding him in the lot, so [his vehicle] drifted across 2 lanes of traffic while other cars tried to move out of the way.
“Then he ran back into the car and took off,” she said.
“All I can really say about it is that it was clearly intentional,” Lohr said. “[The worker] was just doing his job and the guy lost his mind – it was really scary.”
The driver of the vehicle apparently was able to get onto Hartman Run Road and was not seen after.
Tammy said, “The guy bumped Scott three times and as he was trying to get out of the road – on the fourth time he gunned it and hit him and it rolled him over the car.”
She said that Scott’s body rolling over the car busted the back windshield and something from the car gouged through his right elbow – “the frame of the window or something went through two spots and came out of the bottom,” she said. “This guy could have killed him.”
Morgantown police and fire as well as Monongalia EMS responded to the incident and Scott received treatment.
Tammy said he was able to return to work on Wednesday but they have still not received much information on what is being done to find the guy who hit him.
“We haven’t heard anything. We were told the officer that made the report is not back until Saturday at 2 p.m.,” she said. “They said they do have a suspect, but no warrants have been issued yet.”
The suspect’s vehicle had a California license plate and Tammy fears a delay in making an arrest will give the suspect time to flee to California.
MPD Chief Eric Powell said, ”We have located and identified the driver of the vehicle and will be obtaining warrants for his arrest,” although he did not offer a timeline on how long that might take.
While they are waiting for justice to catch up with the suspect, Tammy reminds area residents that the construction is not over and to be considerate of the workers who are just doing their job.
“They are milling and paving Earl L. Core Road and Tyrone Road to the county line – avoid if possible,” she said. “Find another way around or slow down and wait until it’s safe. Don’t be impatient. They have families that need them as well.”
