Family of slain DOT worker urges extension of death benefits and uninsured motorist coverage for state road crews

Members of the family of Andrew de Domenico, Connecticut Department of Transportation officials and labor leaders told the Legislative Labor and Public Employees Committee that two bills before the panel would close gaps in protections for state road crews.

Sherry, Sal and Vincenzo de Domenico testified in support of House Bill 6408 and House Bill 6413, saying their 26‑year‑old son, Andrew, was killed on 06/28/2024 while performing road work and received no workers' compensation because he had no spouse or children. "We respectfully urge passage of HB 6408 and HB 6413," Sherry de Domenico said.

The bills would do two things: HB 6408 would expand who may receive compensation in the event of a death resulting from an on‑the‑job accident to include additional family members such as parents and siblings; HB 6413 would require the state to provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $1,000,000 to Department of Transportation employees in cases where an injured or killed worker encountered an uninsured or underinsured driver.

Paul Rizzo, Bureau Chief of Highway Operations at the Connecticut Department of Transportation, testified in strong support on behalf of Commissioner Garrett Yucolito. "These fatal crashes create holes in families and tear communities apart," Rizzo said, adding that work‑zone incidents and collisions into DOT vehicles are common. He told the committee the agency has lost 38 employees in the line of duty over its history and cited statistics he said illustrate rising danger: between 2020 and 2022, more than 2,500 crashes and 10 fatalities occurred in work zones, and a 2023 pilot program issued more than 20,000 speeding warnings in work zones.

Labor leaders including Carl Chisholm, president of Connecticut Employees Union Independent SEIU Local 511, and Ed Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL‑CIO, also urged passage. Chisholm said the current workers' compensation scheme leaves families without recourse if a worker dies without a spouse or child. "Andrew and his family paid the ultimate price to the state of Connecticut, and I urge the committee to support these bills in an attempt to make future families whole," he said.

Representatives and committee chairs expressed sympathy and support; no final vote was taken at the hearing. Testimony included multiple accounts that DOT crews routinely face dangerously close passes, speeding and impaired drivers while working on highways.

What it would change: HB 6408 would amend the workers' compensation statute to permit dependents beyond spouse and children to receive death benefits when the decedent dies in a work‑related accident. HB 6413 would require state uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for DOT employees at $1,000,000 for injuries or death caused by uninsured or underinsured motorists. Supporters noted that State Police currently have that coverage and said extending it to DOT employees is consistent with the state's duty to protect workers who operate in roadway work zones.

Committee action and next steps: Both bills were the subject of a public hearing at which family members, DOT management, union leaders and advocacy groups testified in support. The committee did not record a final vote during the hearing; the proposals remain before the committee for further consideration.

Context: Witnesses repeatedly framed the bills as responses to a recent, highly publicized fatal crash that killed a young DOT employee and as a policy change to avoid leaving surviving families with no statutory compensation because of narrow definitions in current law.

Speakers quoted in this article are those who testified at the Labor and Public Employees Committee public hearing and are identified by name and role in committee records.