‘Everybody is going to miss him endlessly’: Family of SCDOT worker killed in crash remembers him

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – The South Carolina branch of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigation Thursday’s crash on U.S. 501 that led to the deaths of two S.C. Department of Transportation workers.

Lesia Kudelka, communications director for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, confirmed the investigation is taking place.

She said investigations generally take at least eight weeks to complete and investigators look for any OSHA violations that may have contributed to the incident.

The crash happened on U.S. 501 near Pine Oaks Farm Road in the Aynor area. Horry County Deputy Coroner Patty Bellamy said 35-year-old Cecil Morgan from Aynor and 29-year-old David Sibbick from Loris died at the scene.

An SCDOT project map shows this section is part of a long stretch of U.S. 501 currently under rehab and resurfacing.

In a statement, SCDOT officials said the workers were killed when they were struck by a driver while patching a pothole. Their deaths bring the total number of DOT employees killed in the line of duty to 85.

“These two young men were dedicated employees and put their lives on the line daily to serve the motoring public, as do all of our employees who work on our highways,” said Secretary of Transportation Christy A. Hall in a statement. “SCDOT has active work zones all over the State. This tragic incident should serve as a reminder to the traveling public to obey signs in work zones, slow down, and watch for workers. Drivers should pay attention, avoid distractions, and expected the unexpected. These measures are not only for the safety of our workers, but for your safety as well.”

WMBF News spoke with the family of Sibbick who said they’re still in shock over the loss of their baby boy.

“I’m gonna miss you more than anything," said Scott Sibbick, David’s father. “Everybody, everybody is gonna miss him endlessly, he was the love of our lives and loved by all,” said Jodi Walton David’s mother.

The family said Sibbick was a friend to all, he had an infectious smile. They also said if you ever needed help, he was always there.

“He would drop what he was doing to do something for you," said Brittney Bishop, Sibbick’s sister. "So if you needed something, he was there, always.”

Sibbick’s family said he was passionate about music and went to school in Florida for recording arts.

And he was about to get a chance to pursue a career in his dream industry.

“He was just about to interview for a job at the House of Blues for the sound board for the concerts but he’ll never get to do that," said his father.

Sibbick’s step mom said he was a light to her 21-year-old son who has autism. She said her son hasn’t stopped asking where his brother is and when he will return home.

“And my son, doesn’t understand that David will never be here and just now asked about David, where’s David?," said Wendy Sibbick David’s step mother. "He will never understand, because he doesn’t have that ability to understand, but David was so good with him and I don’t know how to make my 21-year-old know that his brother is not coming back.”

David’s father wants to remind drivers to always pay attention.

“Ten more seconds is not gonna matter except to somebody that’s never gonna have 10 more seconds,” said his father.

According to information from the Federal Highway Work Administration, fatal crashes in work zones increased by 3% between 2016 and 2017.

In the U.S. one work zone fatality occurs for every four billion vehicle miles of travel and for every $112 million worth of roadway construction expenditures, according to the FHWA.

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