By ERIN MATHEWS

Salina Journal

A safety measure instituted following the accidental death of a city of Salina street crew worker four years ago had its first real test Monday.

A pickup truck with flashing arrows directing traffic around an asphalt truck was struck from behind at 10:30 a.m. on South Ninth Street near the Belmont Boulevard intersection, said Salina Deputy Police Chief Carson Mansfield.

City employee Adam Hummel, 34. 211 N. Phillips, who was about to drive the pickup that was hit, was unhurt, but his passenger, Ron Noel, 40, 546 Brookshire, was treated at Salina Regional Health Center, according to the police report.

The truck they were in was a shadow vehicle, one of the changes instituted after city employee Shannon Helms died in 2004 when he was struck by a vehicle while he was working to patch a section of Broadway Boulevard, Mike Fraser, director of public works, said Monday.

Shadow vehicles are used now to place a physical barrier between men working on the street and oncoming traffic in areas where the speed limit is higher, he said. Monday's crash occurred in a 40-mph zone.

In Monday's case, workers had just completed their task and had gotten back into the pickup and dump truck, ready to move on to the next spot, when the crash occurred.

"If those crews would have been out there, the vehicle could have run right into them," Fraser said. Instead, it hit the truck.

In heavy traffic or high-speed areas, pothole patching is now a three-person job, Fraser said. Two-man crews are still used in lower traffic in residential areas, he said.

"We took a good look at our practice of work zone safety throughout the city," Fraser said.

Other changes instituted included improvements in work site signs and upgrades to modern strobe lights and flashers for work zones, he said.

Thomas Wilson, 81, 933 Sunrise, who was driving the car that hit the pickup, told police he saw the flashing arrows, but he continued driving because he thought he could get around the truck, Mansfield said.