Milan Police Chief Shawn Johnson says 56-year-old Richard Rich was hit early Wednesday morning near the Rock Island-Milan Parkway and Deere Drive. UAW leadership said that Rich had worked at the plant for 15 years.
Rich's death comes after strikers complained for weeks about broken streetlights causing poor lighting in the area, which some workers say may have contributed to decreased visibility during the night and early morning. Davenport Electric workers were seen fixing the streetlight at that intersection on Thursday morning.
More than 10,000 workers are on strike at 14 Deere factories in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, and Georgia.
