Caltrans Mourns Worker Killed In Hit-And-Run Near Vacaville

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — A landscape maintenance worker for Caltrans was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Friday on Interstate 80 in Solano County, the California Department of Transportation said.

Just after 10 a.m. Friday, Quanda McGadney, 51, was working along westbound I-80 near Lagoon Valley Road in Vacaville when she was fatally struck, Caltrans said in a news release from its headquarters.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol arrested a suspect in the fatal crash.

According to Caltrans, McGadney served the people of California for more than 18 years and joined Caltrans in 2018. She is survived by her 9-year-old daughter, Nairobi, and her two sisters, Priscilla Stevenson and Candice McGadney.

"The loss of one of our own public servants in this tragic incident is being felt heavily within the Caltrans family today," Caltrans Acting Director Steven Keck said. "Our thoughts and heartfelt support are focused on her family, friends and colleagues at this time."

McGadney is the first Caltrans District 4 — Bay Area — employee to die on the job since 2017. She is the 37th in the history of District 4 and the 190th Caltrans worker to lose their life on the job since 1921.

To help Quanda’s family at this difficult time, a memorial fund is being established through the California Transportation Foundation.

"This tragedy is particularly painful, coming so close to our workers memorial service just a little over a month ago, and drives home how dangerous our work on California’s roadways can be,” Keck said. "Our focus on safety and the ‘Move Over’ law, and asking the public to increase their awareness of the people working on the highways on their behalf are part of our continued effort to eliminate these tragic incidents."