ODOT worker hit by car urges careful driving
Steve Macadam said last week that he's in pain but lucky to be alive.
And because he can talk about what nearly ended his life, the bridge specialist with the Ohio Department of Transportation urges motorists to remain alert and not drive distracted.
The ODOT employee was struck as he worked alone inspecting a culvert on Interstate 76 in Akron on Tuesday.
He is the 22nd ODOT employee to be struck by a motorist this year, according to the agency. "Not all have fared as well as I have," Macadam said.
Macadam talked two days later from his home as he lay on a sofa, with his wife and two children looking on.
He recalled hearing brakes screech behind him, turning and seeing a car in the eastbound lane of I-76 crash into the center median.
"It veered off and came straight at me," he said. "My first thought was, OK, it would miss me. Before I had any time to react, it was on me, it was on top of me. At that point, I knew I was going to get hit by a car. My only instinct was to jump."
He doesn't remember what happened afterward.
Witnesses say that Macadam was thrown 15 feet in the air and went over the car and landed on the road.
"I have no recollection of the impact," he said.
Miraculously, he suffered no broken bones or severe internal injuries. He did suffer a concussion, a torn leg muscle, and aches from head to toe. His physical therapy so far is walking between the sofa and a nearby bathroom.
"There's pains everywhere. There's new pains popping up daily," he said.
Macadam can't bear weight on his legs. Doctors said it will take at least a few weeks for his body to heal enough that he can return to work. By jumping as the car struck him, he probably avoided breaking bones, — but that also led to the concussion.
Macadam said that after he was struck, he managed to move off the road. Motorists who saw what happened stopped and stayed with him until EMTS arrived.
"It was nice to see," he said. "They just cared, ‘Is this man OK?’ They just took care of me. They wouldn't let me move. They had me lay still. They called 911, they got the ambulance there. They got me help."
One motorist lent him a cellphone to call to let his family know what had happened. He said he briefly spoke with his son but could say only his name. The motorist took back the phone and explained the crash to the son.
At Summa Akron City Hospital, a trauma team was waiting. Macadam said he underwent X-rays and other scans twice, and all the results showed no broken bones or other life-threatening injuries. He was discharged that day.