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Wife: Highway worker killed by alleged drunk driver didn't feel safe

EAST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — It's been 17 days since a father and beloved husband was killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Thomas O'Day was working in a construction zone on I-93 with no police detail when it happened.

For the first time since his death, Thomas’ wife is talking about the love of her life only with FOX25 News.

“We had a really strong bond and family was everything to him,” Heather O’Day said.

Just hours before he was killed, Thomas posted on his Facebook page that there were no detail police officers assigned to his work zone and traffic was "insane.”

Heather said Thomas wasn't scheduled to work, but he agreed to go in just hours before his shift started.

“I said I don't have a good feeling and he was like oh, I got to make the money you know. Got to it, it's not that long of a job,” Heather said.

Thomas was 52 years old when he was killed, and a former Army National Guard member. He was also the father of six children, the youngest is a 1-year-old boy named P.J.

“He was my soulmate, P.J.'s never going to know his dad and my kids loved him,”

Heather said she spoke with Thomas on the phone just hours before his death. During that conversation, he expressed concerns about the work zone.

“Basically that there was no detail and he didn't want to do his job.  He didn't feel safe he had almost been hit twice in the truck already,” she said.

Heather said she will never know if the presence of a detail officer would prevented her husband's death, but she does know that her husband deserved better.

“This shouldn't be happening. How many times does it have to happen? All of these families are being destroyed,” she said.

The construction company Thomas worked for had requested a detail for their work that night, but no officers were available to cover it and MassDOT allowed them to work without a detail.