- October 20, 2019
A construction worker in Atlanta killed by a drunk driver. Nobody goes to work in the morning and expects to get hurt. So, when we read a story about a young construction worker who gets killed on the job, our heart goes out to their family.
A couple of weeks ago, this is exactly what happened to a young man in Atlanta. 21-year old Chad Mickler was working construction on the side of Interstate-285. He was working the overnight shift and was along the shoulder of the highway.
At about 2:30 a.m., a car being driven by 22-year old Nadia Butterfield, lost control and ran into the guardrail. She continued to bang along the rail for a few hundred feet. The next thing witnesses saw, she crashed her car into Mickler and proceeded to collide with his parked construction vehicle.
The worker, Chad Mickler, was taken to Grady Memorial hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was the father of his two-year old twins at the time of his death.
The police charged Butterfield with reckless driving and homicide by vehicle. The officer who arrived at the scene said he believed Butterfield was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. They did blood tests but were waiting for them to come back before they charged her with drinking and driving.
In cases like this, the family of the victim has a couple of options. Since Mickler was working at the time of the accident, they can file a worker’s compensation claim on his behalf. They can also pursue Butterfield for wrongful death. There is no indication yet as to what they’ll decide to do.
If your loved one is hurt or killed while on the job, call our office immediately.
