Updated: April 15, 2025 at 10:45 a.m.
On Monday, April 14, 2025, at 10:46 am, Parkways Control received notification of a Parkways employee being struck by a commercial vehicle at about the 92-mile marker Southbound in a marked work zone. Responding and assisting units encountered and identified the driver of the commercial vehicle to be Anvar Sabirov, 28-year-old male from Rego Park, New York, at the scene. Troopers also spoke to witnesses on scene who stated the suspect was observed entering the work zone with his head down traveling South approaching the victim. The victim, James Harper, a 23-year-old male from Beckley, West Virginia, was working on filling a pothole in the pavement. Harper was struck and killed by the commercial vehicle. After the investigation, Sabirov was taken into custody and charged with Vehicular Manslaughter.
This incident is still under investigation.
Original Post
A worker on the West Virginia Turnpike was stuck and killed Monday morning.
The worker was struck by a tractor-trailer at mile marker 92.5 southbound on Interstate 77 while doing asphalt work on the Turnpike.
A Turnpike work crew was patching the center section of the Turnpike with the right lane closed when the accident occurred. The driver of the tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the work zone, but the trailer swung into the work zone and struck the victim.
The driver of the tractor-trailer stopped and is cooperating with authorities, according to a press release from the West Virginia Department of Transportation.
West Virginia State Police are investigating and reviewing video footage from an onboard camera on the tractor-trailer.
The name of the victim has not yet been released.
