Family of injured construction worker begs for drivers to pay attention

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The family of an injured construction worker is speaking out. The husband and father of three young children was hit by an elderly man driving over the speed limit.

"When you work road construction there's always a chance of something happening, but you never think that it's going to happen," injured construction worker Jason Salas said.

It was a typical morning for Jason Salas. He works for a construction company that's working on the Saint Joe Center Road bridge. About two weeks ago, he was hit by an elderly man who was speeding through a construction zone.

"I was getting ready to step out into the other side of the road to stop traffic and that's when I just got hit. Pretty much everything was numb until the ambulance got there and put me on the board. That's when the pain hit in."

His wife Sonia rushed to the hospital to be by his side.

"She (a nurse) had given me his wedding ring and it had blood on it and that just broke my heart. It just felt like my whole mind was shutting down. I've never felt that before, Jason's wife Sonia Salas said.

Jason went from doing helping with everything to not being able to help with much of anything for his family. His wife had to bathe him and brush his teeth. Jason also couldn't use the bathroom on his own.

Doctors said Jason was lucky he didn't break a bone. He was scraped up, badly bruised and could barely walk.

"I just hope that people realize how important it is to keep the speed down and realize that these construction workers all have families."

Jason is improving. He's learning how to walk again without using a walker. It's unclear if and when he'll be able to return back to his road construction job.