AUBURN, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com/AP) -- A toll collector was killed after being struck at a toll plaza.
Bill Pappas, a 61-year-old Holden man, was hit at a Mass Pike toll plaza at Exit 10 in Auburn.
Police say a Toyota driven by a 31-year-old Charlton man struck Pappas while exiting the EZ-Pass lane. Pappas had been walking across the lane.
The driver was pulled over at the scene and was not injured.
Pappas was taken to UMass Medical Center and died a short time later from his injuries. Three lanes were closed during the incident.
His niece Cathy Koulisis said she's shocked by the news, but knows this isn't a new problem.
"That's an ongoing problem I believe with the EZ Pass. People think that they can still go the regular speed limit; fly through and you shouldn't," she said.
Speaking only to FOX25, she said Pappas wasn't married and didn't have kids, but touched the lives of everyone around him.
"Very nice guy," she said. "Family oriented. Hard worker."
MassDOT Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin said Pappas was an 8-year veteran of the job and will be missed. Workplace counselors were made available to his co-workers and employees who witnessed the crash.
Mass. State Police are investigating and Tinlin said he doesn't know how fast the 31-year-old driver was going when Pappas was hit.
"These are kinda the nameless faceless that keep government going but at the end of the shift they deserve to go home and spend time with their families just like anybody else," Tinlin said.