A crash in Winnebago County injured a worker in a construction zone.
At about 1:18 p.m. Thursday, the Winnebago County 911 Communications Center was notified of a crash on Highway 45 just north of Highway 116.
The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office said several Winnebago County Highway Department employees were working along Highway 45 northbound in a marked construction zone that had been reduced to one lane of travel for the ongoing highway work.
Traffic traveling in the open left travel lane was slowing for the active construction work. A flatbed semi tractor-trailer was traveling in the left lane of Highway 45 behind a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, which also traveling in the left lane.
The sheriff's office said a semi-tractor trailer rear-ended the Chevrolet Silverado. The impact pushed the Chevrolet Silverado into the construction work zone area, where the Silverado then collided with a Winnebago County Highway Department employee working in the zone.
The employee had serious injuries and was airlifted to a hospital. The driver of the Silverado had minor injuries. The driver of the semi-tractor had no injuries.
This crash closed Highway 45 northbound for the investigation and traffic was diverted to Highway 116, which created an area of heavy traffic congestion.
