The Cincinnati Enquirer

Villa Hills Police Lt. Dan Goodenough (left) talks with Kentucky Cabinet of Transportation worker Kevin Schneider on Ky. 8 about a mile east of Amsterdam Road. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

VILLA HILLS - A Kentucky Department of Transportation worker remained in critical condition Monday evening after being struck by a car while installing signs along River Road in Kenton County.

Frank Chandler, 58, was taken to University Hospital after being struck by a Lincoln Town Car shortly after 3 p.m. just east of Amsterdam Road.

Chandler was flown by helicopter to the trauma center with head injuries.

The driver of the car, 84-year-old Steve Stoinoff of Villa Hills, was traveling east on River Road when he clipped a transportation department pickup truck and struck Chandler.

Chandler was a flagman on the road crew installing reflective signs along the two-lane road.

Stoinoff was not immediately charged in connection with the wreck. Villa Hills police are investigating.

Last year in Kentucky, five people were killed and 203 were injured in work zones.

Nationally, the number of people killed in motor vehicle crashes in work zones over the past five years has risen from 693 in 1997 to 1,079 in 2001.

Most fatal crashes occurred during the day, on weekdays, and in the summer and fall.