PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — The driver who hit and killed a road worker near Lawrence in March will be charged with drunken driving, prosecutors say.

The Van Buren County prosecutor authorized charges of operating while intoxicated causing death, moving violation causing death in a work zone and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

The charges stem from a March 3 crash on County Road 681 between 44th and 48th avenue northwest of Lawrence. Michigan State Police, which investigated the crash, said a driver ignored signs to stop for a construction zone, rear-ended another car and hit Van Buren County road worker Rene Rangel, who was manning a traffic control sign. Rangel, 58, of Dowagiac, was killed.

An undated photo of Rene Rangel.
An undated photo of Rene Rangel.

The suspect was arrested Monday, the prosecutor’s office said, but his name was not released pending arraignment. That could happen as early as Tuesday. Police previously said he was a 30-year-old Hartford man.

The drunken driving and moving violations are both 15-year felonies. The insurance charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

In a Monday Facebook post, the Van Buren County Road Commission thanked all the law enforcement agencies who worked on the case “in helping bring justice.”