Construction Worker Dies After Hit-and-Run

Richard "R.C." Williamson, 67, was directing traffic on N.C. Highway 96 near Bruce Garner Road in Granville County on Wednesday when a  car hit him and left the scene, authorities said.

"I rushed up there, and when I came up, R.C. was lying on the ground. He was conscious then, but he just passed right on out," said Mike Ellington, Williamson's brother-in-law.

Williamson was taken to Duke University Hospital, where he died Thursday.

He was flagging traffic with a crew for Ellington's company, Ellington Landscaping, which was doing roadwork in the area when he was hit.

Other members of the road crew were stunned as they watched the accident helplessly, Ellington said.

"(A worker) saw the person talking on the cell phone. (Williamson) was just stopped completely, and the car was going 55 mph and just ran into him and kept going," Ellington said.

The straight stretch of highway has a posted speed limit of 45 mph.

The car knocked down orange traffic barrels, warning signs and barricades as it drove through the work zone, Ellington said.

"The person was on a straight stretch, and they couldn't see all the signs and him flagging?" he asked incredulously. "(Williamson) was just out there trying to make an honest day's living."

The only description of the vehicles was a two-door white or cream-colored car, authorities said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Highway Patrol's Durham office at 919-560-6868.