UPDATE, June 26 | Kansas City, Missouri, police have identified the construction worker killed Wednesday as Joseph R. Caldwell, 61.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
ORIGINAL REPORT | A construction worker was killed Wednesday after being struck by an SUV at NW Barry Road and NW Boardwalk, per the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department.
Police were called just before 10:45 a.m. to the intersection.
Investigators said a light color, midsize SUV was traveling westbound on Barry Road when the driver struck the construction worker and fled the scene.
By the time officers arrived, fire personnel had already declared the worker dead.
Police said the suspect was apprehended at her home a short time later.
KSHB 41's Rachel Henderson went to the scene. There, she spoke with the man supervising the construction project, Doug Rhodus.
Rhodus said his crew was fixing potholes when a "devastating," completely preventable situation occurred.
"They need to slow down. Barry Road is not a drag street," said Rhodus, maintenance engineer for Rubenstein Real Estate.
He said his crew took all the precautions they could, including coning off the area.
"I don't know what else to do," Rhodus said.
Rhodus said the victim did not work for him and was a contractor. However, he said he had known the "very likable gentleman" for about 20 years.
"He didn't deserve this," he said.
Rhodus sent his crew home after the hit-and-run.
"It's going to be tough," Rhodus said. "There's no sugar coating it. It's very, very unfortunate. He was a very nice guy."
A worker at the gas station near the scene told Henderson they gave surveillance video to police. They also said they agreed with Rhodus that drivers must be much more aware of their surroundings.
"You have to see the construction area, you have to carefully drive and you have to slowly drive," the worker told Henderson.
Police continue to investigate the crash.
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