Worker Installing Rye Brook Traffic Light Hurt as Tractor Trailer Hits His Lift Truck

A worker installing a traffic signal on a busy Rye Brook street sustained multiple injuries when a passing tractor trailer hit his lift truck and sent him crashing to the pavement, according to Rye Brook Police.

The 9:43 a.m. accident created traffic problems in the Ridge Street area in Rye Brook until an investigation of the accident was completed at about 2:30 p.m. and the road was re-opened to traffic, according to Lt. Eugene Matthews.

Although the worker was not moving when police first arrived, Matthews said police soon found the worker was alert and conscious. The worker was taken to a Westchester hospital for treatment and his injuries include severe scrapes and bruises, a broken nose and a broken elbow.

Matthews said the incident is considered an accident and no charges were brought against the woman driving the tractor trailer involved. Police observed the driver and had her undergo field sobriety tests.

The incident began less than an hour after a Verde Electric crew began working on the installation of a new traffic light for Westchester County on Ridge Street at Ellendale Avenue. Matthews said the worker was in the bucket of a lift truck working on a traffic signal when a tractor trailer made a turn at the intersection.

As the truck turned, Matthews said the truck hit the lift truck - leaving the working hanging from the traffic signal by a safety belt. However, Matthews said the worker then fell from the traffic signal, landed on top of the moving tractor trailer and then fell face-first onto the pavement.

Rye Brook Police called in Westchester County Police accident investigators to review the incident along with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Work on the new traffic light on Ridge Street is expected to continue on Friday morning.