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DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. – A State Department of Transportation worker was killed and another was injured after an accident Wednesday morning on Interstate 40.

Crime Control and Public Safety officials say a tractor-trailer hit Jonathan King, 21, around 8 a.m. while he was working on the interstate near Warsaw, N.C., killing him instantly. Bradly Williams was related from Sampson Memorial Hospital after treatment.

DOT officials say the workers were setting up a work zone when the accident happened.

The tractor-trailer's driver, Ernest Harris, is charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, reckless driving, failing to maintain lane control and failure to reduce speed.

"The driver stated he was looking at some papers, some shipping papers, and took his eyes off the road for just a minute ran off the road," Sgt. Will Thurston said. "When he looked up, he was over the white line heading right for the DOT truck."

Troopers say crews also worked to clean up fuel that spilled from the 18-wheeler.

Crews say this is a wakeup call for drivers to be careful.

"When you see one of these vehicles or someone working on the interstate, their life is in your hands when you're coming down the interstate at 70 miles an hour," Gene Boone, with the Warsaw Volunteer Fire Department, said.

And troopers say it's a reminder of how fast the road can turn deadly.

"Somebody took their eyes of the road for a second and a terrible thing happened, and that's how quickly it can happen," Thurston said.

Last year, 11 people died in work zone crashes, but this is the first time a DOT worker has died in a work zone crash since fall 2008.

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