FAYETTEVILLE -- A highway construction worker was seriously injured but alive after a work accident Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Interstate 540 and Porter Road.

Equipment the man was working on apparently fell from the highway's overpass onto Porter at 2:30 p.m. Crews are working at widening the road there.

He was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center.

It's unclear if wind gusts in excess of 30 mph were a factor. The Fayetteville Fire Department and Arkansas State Police were called to the scene.

"We're unsure what happened, what he fell from or whether he was wearing safety equipment or anything like that," said Capt. Willie Watts, who was on the scene. "I do know they were working from an elevated area. And one of the workers said that's where he had fallen from, which was approximately 30 feet. He had some substantial injuries."

Witnesses said the man was conscious when emergency workers arrived.

The man's name and other details weren't available Thursday evening. State police referred questions to the fire department.

Between 100 and 130 workers have been killed each year at road construction sites since 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two Arkansas workers were killed in 2012, the last year available.

In Northwest Arkansas, Kevin Anderson of Springdale was killed last January after being hit by a car while working on Interstate 40 in Crawford County. In late 2012, Jackie Luper of West Fork was killed along Joyce Boulevard in Fayetteville.

NW News on 03/28/2014