Idaho Transportation Department technician survives harrowing collision; back on the job

Newdale, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho Transportation Department employee Brandon Bates flew into the air, blacking out instantly, as a speeding car barreled into him at more than 50 miles per hour a year and a half ago in Newdale.

“I was waving my arms, jumping around, trying to get him to slow down and stop. And he never touched the brakes,” Bates said. “He hit me. … From the time I saw him come across the tracks to when he hit me, he never looked up from the center of his car.”

Construction season is back in session, and Bates is sharing his harrowing story of survival as part of National Work Zone Awareness week, after coming face-to-face with death at the hands of a distracted driver.

“Ended up getting life flighted. I had a brain bleed. I am 100 percent deaf on my left side now,” Bates said. “I still have a few surgeries I have to get done to fix my left shoulder and my left arm.”

After sustaining bleeding on the brain and serious trauma, he was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

But he’s back on the job, plowing roads Wednesday night near Palisades until 4:30 in the morning.

Hundreds of transportation workers throughout the state place their lives on the line every day – hoping a distracted driver doesn’t spiral into a disaster as they repair roadways, direct traffic and ensure the public’s safety.

“Basically [follow] rules of the road. Don't be texting and driving. No distracted driving," said ITD Transportation Technician Colby Norlund. "The biggest thing is when you enter a work zone, pay attention to your signs. "

"Pay attention to what it's telling you. Try and watch for cues such as lights on a truck, arrow boards," he said. "We have pictures being shown – diamonds, signaling caution. We have arrows signaling to move over.”

Drivers should move over to the opposite lane if possible, when crews are on the road.

“Don't get complacent,” Bates said. “ You might drive it every day, but things change all the time. Just pay attention and stay off your devices and just make it so everybody can go home at night.”