Livingston County man run over while flagging at job site

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — A Livingston County man remains in serious condition at Strong Memorial Hospital after he was run over while working as a flagger for a paving company earlier this month.

Bernie Fischer’s family shared their story with News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke in hopes of getting us all to slow down and pay better attention near work sites.

Bernie Fischer is a husband, father and brother. “He’s a lifelong resident of Conesus Lake, really into fishing, everybody knows him as Uncle Bud,” his brother Glenn says.

Bernie has worked for a paving company for years, most of the time he drives the truck and lays the asphalt but on August 4. “On this particular occasion, I believe he was flagging to give a break to the person who was flagging so that they could have lunch,” Glenn explains.

The job was along Route 15 in Lakeville, Livingston County. It was around noon when Bernie’s life changed forever. “There were cones set up, my brother was in high visibility gear as a flagger and apparently this gentleman disregarded the cones drove over them, struck my brother and then continued through the construction site, and didn’t stop until after the construction site,” Glenn says.

By then, Bernie was on the ground unresponsive. “According to witnesses, he did three somersaults in the air, kind of like a rag-doll, came down and landed on his left side and was unconscious from that point on,” Glenn explains. A nurse was passing by at the time of the accident and stopped to help. Bernie was then rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital where he’s been ever since.

“He’s got a brain injury, he’s also got a crushed left knee which has been stabilized and now immobilized with some external braces, he’s got a few vertebrae near his tailbone that appear to have been pulverized,” explains Glenn of his brother’s injuries.

The driver who hit Bernie is an 81-year-old man. He is not believed to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident. He was issued two tickets at the scene and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office tells News10NBC it provided his license information to the DMV for further review.

“Seeing the impact on my brother’s life and the people around him because somebody either wasn’t paying attention or maybe shouldn’t have been driving,” said Glenn. “One small moment for them and it changes somebody’s life forever.”

Bernie has a long road ahead of him, he’ll likely be at Strong Memorial Hospital for the next several weeks before moving to a rehabilitation center. Before he can come home, a lot of modifications will be needed. His family and friends have set up this GoFundMe page: Fundraiser for Bernard Fischer.