Shiloh police investigate death of construction worker hit by vehicle
Local and state police are investigating the death of a St. Clair County road construction worker who was hit by a vehicle driven by an unidentified minor on Friday morning east of Shiloh.
The victim was Murphy Rogers, 55, of Swansea, according to a press release posted Monday morning by Shiloh Police Department, although county Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. told the BND on Saturday that he lived in East St. Louis.
“It was very tragic,” Shiloh Detective Sgt. Kyle Bade said by phone on Monday afternoon.
The accident occurred at a road construction site between Shiloh and Scott Air Force Base along southbound Illinois 158, also known as Air Mobility Drive, near its intersection with Maple Street.
Paul Wappel, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said it was a St. Clair County road project, not a state project.
County Engineer Norm Etling, who heads the highway department, declined a phone interview on Monday. He stated in an email that he hadn’t seen the accident report and referred questions to Shiloh police.
According to the release:
- Police responded to a call at 10:48 a.m. Friday in reference to a vehicle hitting a construction worker near Air Mobility Drive and Maple Street.
- On arrival, officers began life-saving efforts on Rogers until emergency medical personnel took over.
- Rogers was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in O’Fallon, where he was pronounced dead.
- Officers made contact with the vehicle’s driver, identified only as a “minor female,” who had non-life-threatening injuries.
- The driver was transported to the police station for questioning.
- Shiloh police called in the Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit to help investigate.
“The results of the investigation and toxicology will be submitted to the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office when it is completed,” the release stated, referring to the office that determines whether people are charged with crimes.
On Saturday, Dye said Rogers was hit by a speeding vehicle.
Bade declined to comment on the cause or other circumstances of the accident due to the ongoing investigation. He also declined to give the driver’s age or a vehicle description.
“Once we have all the results back, we can obviously put more information out,” Bade said. “But with evidentiary standards, we can’t release anything more than what’s in our press release.”
Attempts to reach Rogers’ family on Monday were unsuccessful.
His Facebook page lists East St. Louis as his hometown and states that he attended East St. Louis Senior High School and studied at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.
Several friends and family members have posted condolences on social media. They remembered Rogers as someone who enjoyed “soul food,” placed wreaths on family graves at Christmas and showed up at family gatherings dressed in all black with an “unmistakable” presence.
One sister noted that she woke up Saturday morning hoping Rogers’ death was a dream before reality hit and wished that she could spend more time with her “Big Brother.”
“Please keep me and my family in your prayers as we face this difficult time,” she wrote.
