The Connecticut Employees Union Independent released the following statement after Daniel Dinardi of Rocky Hill was killed on Route 8 Thursday afternoon after being hit by a truck just north of the town line between Waterbury and Naugatuck. The statement reads:
On Thursday afternoon, State Department of Transportation worker and Connecticut Employees Union Independent member Daniel Dinardi was removing debris from Route 8 near the Naugatuck town line, when he was struck and killed by another vehicle.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our Union Brother Dan Dinardi, a 21 year veteran of the Department of Transportation. As he did every day during his career, Dan risked his own life in order to keep the motoring public safe. Unfortunately, we have a driving culture in Connecticut where people are speeding, talking on phones, texting, using computers and doing everything but paying attention to the road.
It is imperative that when you see an unusual situation on the road; such as a work site, a tow truck, a stranded motorist, a police officer, an ambulance or a fire truck, that you drastically reduce your speed to give yourself the necessary reaction time to avoid an accident. We hope that out of this tragedy comes a public awareness that workers and first responders have the right to go home to their families at the end of the day. Slow down and let them live!
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Dinardi family at this difficult time. Connecticut Employees Union Independent represents 4,000 maintenance and service workers for the state of Connecticut.
