ANTELOPE VALLEY : Brothers Injured on Caltrans Crew

Two brothers performing community service on a Caltrans crew were injured when a motorist who fell asleep at the wheel plunged off a 75-foot-high embankment and ran into them, authorities said.

Anthony Nix, 35, of Lancaster was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, California Highway Patrol Officer Stephen Hunsaker said. The incident occurred Saturday on the northbound Antelope Valley Freeway just south of Palmdale Boulevard, he said.

Ronald Noel, 38, suffered a broken thumb and his brother, Donald Noel, 41, received a concussion and back injury, Hunsaker said. Both men were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated and released, he said.

Members of the six-member Caltrans crew were assigned by a judge to clean that section of the highway after being convicted of committing either traffic violations or other minor penal code infractions, Hunsaker said. He did not know what violations the two brothers had committed.

Nix was being held Saturday at the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station in lieu of $1,000 bail.