'Am I going to see my kids?': County highway worker recalls moment car crashed into him on I-94

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee County highway worker says he's lucky to be alive after he and another worker were hit and injured while working on I-94. 

Mark Hammer says it was like any other morning. 

"I like the physical work. Just to be outside working," said Hammer. 

It was work he had done countless of times with the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation's Highway Maintenance Crew.

"I was leaned over, trying to hold the bolts so the other worker can take it off," he said. 

Four hours into his shift on Tuesday morning, it stopped being just another day. 

“All I seen was the headlights coming at me and I couldn’t go nowhere," said Hammer. 

Hammer says a car on I-94 came out of nowhere as he was working on repairing a broken guardrail. The car, which Hammer says was going 70 miles per hour, hit the county's snowplow. 

“Bounced off the plow truck after he hit it," said Hammer. 

In an instant, Hammer says the car swerved and hit him, and another employee. Hammer was pinned between the guardrail he was working on and the car.

“A lot of things went through my mind. Am I going to see my kids at the other side of this?" said Hammer. 

What caused the accident was not alcohol or reckless driving, but sleep. 

“That can impair you to the same level as being legally intoxicated, you know, 0.8 blood alcohol level," said Nick Jarmusz, director of public affairs with AAA. "It’s just as dangerous as being impaired by drugs or alcohol.”

According to the sheriff's office, the 23-year-old driver was headed to work and fell asleep at the wheel. 

“Who’s the next person who feels tired, could fall asleep and could actually end my life then?" said Hammer. 

The driver walked away with a ticket for inattentive driving and speeding. Hammer says he's been forced to walk away with more. 

“Pain, suffering. The ribs. They said I had a bruised lung. Medical bills are going to be piling up," said Hammer. 

Hammer's family has created a GoFundMe to help alleviate some of the medical costs. If you would like to donate, you can click here.