Duty of Care

On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Jamil Wilson, 47, a New York State Thruway Authority maintenance worker who was with a mowing crew, was struck and killed on the Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) in White Plains, New York, State Police said, as reported by Mid-Hudson News. He had worked for the Thruway Authority for about six years. The other crew members were not hurt.

A preliminary State Police investigation found that a car traveling in the right lane near the Exit 6 off-ramp went onto the shoulder, reentered the travel lane, and struck the rear of another car, then left the roadway onto the grassy shoulder, where it struck Wilson while he was operating a mowing tractor.

For roadside crews, the defenses to check are the temporary traffic control set up for mobile work such as mowing, advance warning signs, protective or shadow vehicles, buffer space between traffic and the crew, and how far from the travel lanes the work can be planned. These are work-zone design controls, not just individual care.

• Mid-Hudson News