A West Providence Township maintenance worker is in critical condition after a distracted driver struck a safety vehicle, causing it to rear-end the utility tractor the worker was riding.

The collision occurred about 8:21 a.m. May 18 near 11589 Lincoln Highway in West Providence Township, Bedford County. A public information release report from state police at Bedford stated that a second maintenance worker was operating a Ford F250 Supercab as a safety vehicle for Jarred Allen Bulger, 35, who was driving a John Deere 855 utility tractor along Route 30.

The Ford F250 driver told officers he noticed a Pontiac G6, later determined to have been driven by Michael A. Bruce, 27, approaching the rear of his vehicle and not slowing down. Bruce admitted to being distracted by looking down at his cellphone and noticed the truck too late, the report states.

Bruce told officers he applied his brakes but was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the truck. He struck the rear of the truck, pushing it forward into the back of the tractor driven by Bulger.

Bulger’s vehicle was then pushed forward into a guide rail before it bounced into the roadway and rolled over, throwing Bulger from the tractor, the release states.

Bulger was transported to Conemaugh Hospital in Johnstown for life-threatening injuries. Bruce and the second maintenance worker were not injured, the report states.