Construction worker killed in wreck

BELLEVILLE -- Police in Belleville say a 39-year-old worker has been killed in an accident in a highway construction zone.

Investigators say Cedrick Gasper of East St. Louis was sitting on the rear bumper of a company pickup truck when a tractor-trailer hit several large orange construction barrels being used to direct traffic on Illinois Route 15.

The tractor-trailer then hit the truck head on, catapulting Gasper.

Gasper died later at a St. Louis hospital, while the tractor-trailer's driver was treated at a Belleville hospital and released.

Gasper worked for a company called Illinois Excavators. Another Illinois Excavators worker sustained minor injuries while jumping from the pickup truck moments before the accident.