Car hits, kills utility worker in Roosevelt

ROOSEVELT — A utility worker was fatally injured Tuesday when he was struck by a car.

Richard Adams, 49, of Roosevelt, was marking telephone wiring boxes along State Street near 1800 South at about 11:30 a.m. when he was hit, said Roosevelt Police Chief Rick Harrison.

Harrison said Jonathan Blackhair, 36, was driving south on State Street when he lost control of his Ford Crown Victoria. The car crossed the center line, went off the left side of the road, hit a fence and went partially airborne before striking Adams.

Adams, an employee of Strata Networks, was taken by ambulance to Uintah Basin Medical Center and later died, Harrison said.

Blackhair was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and released. Harrison said the Randlett man has a history of diabetes and seizures. Officers are investigating whether those medical conditions may have contributed to the crash.

Harrison said preliminary evidence does not indicate that drug or alcohol use were factors in the crash. Investigators will decide what charges, if any, to seek once they receive the results of the toxicology tests performed on a blood sample collected from Blackhair, the chief said.

— Geoff Liesik