GRAY (WGME) – A construction worker, hit by a car on the turnpike, managed to crawl to safety.

Now 58-year-old Danny Lowe has been upgraded from critical to serious condition.

The crash happened in the northbound lane of the turnpike, just south of the Gray exit. That’s where a vehicle hit Lowe.

Police say a motorist drifted into the breakdown lane, hitting him. Troopers say the impact threw Lowe into oncoming traffic, but he crawled back to safety.

Lowe’s neighbor, Bill Sylvester, is a retired truck driver. He feels drivers are a threat to highway workers.

“They’re taking a chance, because people just don’t slow down enough,” Sylvester said.

Lowe works for Pike Industries, contracted to do a job for Maine Turnpike Authority. The company says it is looking into the factors that led to their employee being hit.

Just five months ago, longtime turnpike employee Jeff Abbott was hit and killed. State police say he had just gotten out of his truck to grab some safety cones, when a driver hit two cars from behind, then veered into a construction zone, hitting Abbott.

In this latest incident, state police cited the driver, Alphie Lambert of Biddeford, with failing to comply with the state’s “move over” law. It requires motorists to move into the next lane when emergency and construction vehicles are in the breakdown lane.

“I wish there was something that could be done,” Sylvester said. “But it’s all up to every single individual out there driving.”

The Turnpike Authority is encouraging drivers to be alert and slow down in construction zones, especially if you see someone standing along the highway.

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