CONCORDIA, Mo. — A Missouri Department of Transportation worker sustained minor injuries following an accident on I-70 near Concordia, Mo., on Wednesday.

According to MoDOT, the accident occurred when a semi truck stuck the rear of a MoDOT dump truck. The MoDOT vehicle was equipped with a crash attenuator, which helps absorbs the shock of an impact. The MoDOT truck was being used to protect a MoDOT crew that was working to strip the road.

A truck mounted attenuator or TMA, as it’s called, is basically a rolling bodyguard. If anything hits it, it crumples and takes the brunt of the impact and the damage.

“It’s got a box on the back and sits low to the ground as it absorbs the energy, it protects us from a highway-speed impact,” said Rusty James with KC Scout.

The crew involved in Wednesday’s accident was laying the white stripe on the outside lane of I-70. They were just outside of Concordia when the driver of a semi didn’t see the crew and slammed into the attenuator.

The TMA did its job, even the dump truck was knocked on its side and skidded into a ditch. The sole purpose MoDOT uses them is to protect its crews working on the highways.

After the two vehicles were hauled away. MoDOT employees stayed behind to clean up fuel, oil and other engine fluid that flooded the roadway.

MoDOT is hopeful that Wednesday’s near miss will serve as a reminder to all drivers to keep an eye out for road crews. The best thing to do is to slow down and move into another lane until you pass the crew.