On the evening of May 21st, 2018, Grade Foreman Mike Lyle stood next to a police patrol car on a northbound exit ramp on I-85. The exit was closed to motorists, blocked off at the bottom and top with reflective traffic barrels. As Lyle spoke through the driver鈥檚 side window with the officer, blue lights flashed on their darkened surroundings. It was close to midnight, the final half-hour of what had been another routine shift at work.
Then, in the middle of their conversation, a vehicle entered the blocked-off exit ramp at high speed. Turning his head to watch, Lyle started to ask, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 that guy鈥斺�� But before he could finish the sentence, the vehicle collided into the back of the patrol car. The impact struck Lyle, throwing him more than 20 feet into the main traffic lane of I-85.
Suffering numerous bone fractures and massive trauma to his head, Lyle was air-lifted to Charlotte emergency facilities where he spent four days in a coma, followed by two weeks under hospital care. In total, Lyle suffered a fractured tibia below the knee, broken bones in his thumb, wrist, arm, and shoulder on his right side, fractures to his skull in two places, and countless bruises and scrapes. In addition, the impact of his forehead on the pavement severed nerves resulting in hearing loss, and impacting his senses of taste and smell.
Today, almost a full year after the work zone accident that nearly cost him his life, Lyle has returned to work on the same I-85 project where it took place. Asked about the incident and how it effected his outlook on life, work, and safety on the job, he had the following to say:
How is your recovery coming?
I鈥檓 doing good, you know. I鈥檓 here working again. My body鈥檚 healing. Still working on getting my shoulder back to 100 percent, but it鈥檚 getting there. I鈥檝e got my last two sessions of physical therapy coming up next week. The hardest part, honestly, is my taste and smell not being right. The damage to my nerves made most food taste so I can鈥檛 stomach it. I鈥檓 living on eggs and protein shakes. But I鈥檓 alive.
Had you ever been injured on the job prior to your accident last year?
I鈥檝e worked 20 years in the construction industry, the last five of them at Blythe. All that time I was on heavy construction and road work, and I never had any sort of accident. I tore my thumb pretty bad once. Nothing anywhere close to this. Nothing life-threatening.
How did you think about risk and safety before the accident?
[Laughs] Before the accident, I don鈥檛 know鈥 looked at things differently. I would have performed a lane closure by myself if I had to. Part of it was experience, being accustomed to the environment. I felt confident because I had been around it so long. Working near traffic was second nature. I just thought nothing of it. Now, I mean, that accident completely changed my life.
How has it influenced the way you work now?
I hear brakes screeching somewhere, I about jump out of my skin. Everyday I鈥檓 here I see the spot it happened. It is what it is.
Part of what shocked me, was that I did everything by the book that evening: I had the ramp closed off completely, I was wearing all my PPE鈥攅ven had my halo turned on my hard hat鈥攁nd I鈥檇 called the police in for extra visibility. Even with all that, an accident happened that almost cost my life.
Did you ever consider not coming back to work?
The accident was something that happened. It wasn鈥檛 good. But I鈥檓 50 years old now, I鈥檝e done this work most of my life. The whole time that I was home recovering, I felt like I was on house arrest. I had a cast on my arm, my leg. I couldn鈥檛 drive, I couldn鈥檛 really leave my house. I spent five months in a fog of pain medication that I couldn鈥檛 wait to get out of.
I was so broken up that for a while after the accident I was focused on just getting my health back. At some point, though, it鈥檚 like, 鈥淲hat do I do? Do I shy away from this?鈥� I鈥檓 just not that type of person. And on top of all that, Blythe is like family. That in itself is a big part of why I came back.
Has your accident changed your opinion about work zone awareness? What can be done in your opinion to make work zones safer?
People are just too concerned about where they need to be. The average person鈥擨 don鈥檛 know if they just don鈥檛 get it, or they don鈥檛 care. You see people reading the paper, eating, putting on makeup, texting鈥攁ll while they鈥檙e driving! I found out after my accident that traffic was driving around me lying on the side of I-85. That says something about the public鈥檚 mindset.
You know, we have signs five miles before our jobsite to alert drivers. Do they even see that? I don鈥檛 know. I do know that Blythe does everything within its power to keep employees safe. All kinds of safety training, certification鈥攜ou name it. All that stuff is important, and it does make a difference. But there鈥檚 a limit to what you can prevent. Because safety depends on the public too.
Any words of advice for people getting into the industry?
Beware of your surroundings. Know where you鈥檙e at. Watch traffic. Watch equipment. Watch dump trucks. The biggest thing is, don鈥檛 be afraid to ask questions if you don鈥檛 know something. You have to communicate, because he traffic鈥檚 not going away. And just because you鈥檝e done something 100 times before, don鈥檛 take your safety for granted.