Pedestrian killed after trying to direct traffic on Ben White Blvd

AUSTIN, Texas - Just after 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, Austin police responded to an auto-pedestrian accident just off Highway 71, near 183 but it was not the case of someone trying to cross. It was a much different story.

"We found that a pickup truck carrying mulch lost part of its load. The workers were attempting to clean up the load out of the middle of the highway," said Sgt. Earl Garrison.

Police said the workers were on the way to a jobsite with the mulch. When it began to spill, some of the people got out to clean it up in the middle of the highway. They also attempted to divert traffic.

"They didn't call APD, they didn't call for any assistance and they were trying to direct traffic themselves," said Garrison.

Meanwhile, some of the traffic was still coming on pretty fast. "Two vehicles collided and they broke apart. One went over and supposedly hit one of the people who were trying to pick up the mulch and he died on scene," said Garrison.

Garrison said unfortunately, police see a lot of similar cases, the stretch of road where it happened is still fairly new.

"We have this, people trying to fix tires in the road and they get hit, things like that. This is a blind curve coming off 183 to 71. So you really can't see down here," said Garrison.

Garrison feels this is a cautionary tale for both drivers and pedestrians. "Call police, have us come out here and help you out. Try to avoid this right here," he said.

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