KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The family of a motorist assist operator killed on I-70 is speaking out about the loss of a man who they say spent his life helping others. Clifton Scott had just celebrated his 15th anniversary with MoDOT. He was planning go get married in 2013. Now, his fiance says all she’s left with are memories of the man she loved.
“It’s just been hard. I mean, I’ll be expecting to hear that truck come up the street and I’m not going to hear that truck,” said Scott’s fiance Monique Banks. “I’m not going to see his face.”
A sign with balloons outside Clifton Scott’s home proclaims that there is sorrow on earth but happiness in heaven. The MoDOT motorist assist operator would have turned 51-years-old on September 25. His family celebrated by taking time to remember a man who they say took great pride in helping others.
“I take comfort in the character of man that he was. Because I know being his first niece and being there for me as much as he was,” said Scott’s niece Porsha Jones-Scott. “He is a strong dignified courageous man of God.”
A 35-year-old lawyer has been charged with First Degree Involuntary Manslaughter for causing Scott’s death. Investigators say David Murdick was drunk with a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit. Murdick’s vehicle smashed through traffic barriers, flares and other warnings before hitting and killing Scott. Because of that, Scott’s fiance believe there is only one punishment to fit this crime.
“He needs to do life in prison so he can sit there and think what he has done to us,” Banks said. “Yes, that’s what needs to happen. No parole. Life in jail.”
Scott was known to his family and friends by the nickname “Fat Daddy.” He was a child of the housing projects who escaped a life of poverty by working hard. There’s been a lot of support for his family within the African-American Community. Scott is survived by a 14-year-old son who lives in Kentucky.
David Murdick, the man accused of striking and killing Scott remains hospitalized after the crash.
