A St. Paul Regional Water Services employee sustained a significant injury when a driver struck him as he was on the shoulder of Interstate 35E on Thursday, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Brandon Dagostino, 33, had his leg broken and “is really lucky he wasn’t hurt more seriously,” said Lt. Tiffani Nielson, State Patrol spokeswoman. “It could have been much worse what happened out there.”

He was driving northbound on I-35E at the Cayuga Bridge about 2:10 p.m. and could tell something was loose on the pick-up truck’s trailer, Nielson said. He pulled over to the left shoulder to check and secure it.

Traffic was moving along at freeway speeds and had slowed down a bit, but a driver swerved to the left to avoid the vehicles braking in front of her and struck Dagostino, Nielson said. She didn’t have information about how fast Loryn Rofick, 21, was traveling.

Paramedics took Dagostino to Regions Hospital, where he was listed in good condition on Thursday afternoon.

Rofick was uninjured and will be cited when the trooper finishes the investigation, Nielson said.

“Our hearts are with our injured employee,” said Steve Schneider, St. Paul Regional Water Services general manager, in a statement. “You never want to hear of one of your own being hurt in any way, and the St. Paul Regional Water Services family is thinking of their co-worker right now.”