Bruce Wagner and Steve Spenle Accident Alaiedon Township MI Death Obituary: MDOT Workers Dies After Tragic U.S. 127 Crash

Bruce Wagner and Steve Spenle spent their working lives serving Michigan motorists, a commitment that ended tragically while they were doing their jobs on a highway work zone.

The two Michigan Department of Transportation workers were killed on May 26 in a crash on northbound U.S. 127 near Holt Road in Alaiedon Township, according to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office. Wagner was 51, while Spenle was 49.

Investigators said a vehicle driven by 24-year-old Tyler Reck was traveling at high speed when the driver lost control and struck the two workers. Prosecutors later charged Reck with two counts of reckless driving causing death and two counts of moving violation causing death in a work zone. Each charge is a 15-year felony.

Reck was arraigned, and a judge set a $25,000 personal recognizance bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 11 for a pre-examination conference.

For Wagner and Spenle’s families, friends and fellow MDOT employees, the loss represents far more than a tragic highway incident. They were two people whose work placed them alongside Michigan roads in service to the traveling public.

Publicly available information about their early lives, families, personalities, careers and individual accomplishments remains limited. Those details have not been independently confirmed and should not be assumed.

Their deaths are a solemn reminder of the risks faced by road workers every day. Bruce Wagner and Steve Spenle will be remembered through the people they served, the colleagues who worked beside them and the lives touched by their dedication.