A West Seneca Highway worker died Saturday after he was run over by a town maintenance vehicle Tuesday morning.
West Seneca Police say 53-year-old Don Schultz was working at a town project site located on Glenmar Drive around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
He was working near a sewer maintenance vehicle when he lost his footing and slipped beneath the wheels of the vehicle, according to police.
Don was transported to Erie County Medical Center where he died Saturday.
"The kids had to shut the machines down this morning because he suffered greatly over the past four days," said Nicole Schultz, Don's ex-wife. Don and Nicole got back together and were planning a future for each other and their six kids.
According to Nicole, a "flusher truck" drove off with nobody inside it. It's an incident that she says has happened three times to Don in the past month, but co-worker Andy was able to help him avoid.
"He said that the first time it happened, Andy screamed at him," said Nicole over the phone. "The second time it happened Andy actually jumped in and hit the break and stopped it. Don said 'he actually saved my life today'."
The third time was Tuesday. According to police, Don was working near the truck when he slipped beneath the wheels of the vehicle. He worked for the West Seneca Highway Department for nearly 30 years. It's what Nicole calls a tough job, but a job that he could do.
"Oh he was a tough guy," said Nicole. "He was a hard worker. It was a very physical job, very demanding. He's had surgeries from injuries."
Now, all she wants are answers, which she says the Town of West Seneca has not given her. Answers regarding the vehicle, and also Don's cell-phone which she says has gone missing.
"Don's cell-phone is missing," she said. "I want his cell-phone back. If Don's friends haven't seen the news then they don't know because I can't even get ahold of them."
We've reached out to the Town and so far they have not returned our request for comment.
The GoFundMe page is set up to help Schultz and his family. If you are interested in helping, click here.
"You don't know what's going to happen one day, one minute, one second changes your whole life, and it's never the same again... ever," said Nicole.
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