POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Polk County worker was killed Thursday afternoon while clearing a fallen tree from the roadway after Hurricane Milton, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a news release, deputies said the worker, Bruce Kinsler, 68, of Bartow, was working as part of a four-person “push team” near U.S. Highway 98 and Brooke Road.
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Kinsler, employed by Polk County Roads and Drainage, was with his three coworkers when they found a fallen tree on the highway. As a result, the team began using chainsaws to break up the tree, deputies explained.
About 20 minutes later, another man, Joel Wagner, 57, of Fort Meade, drove his F-150 pickup truck west along the highway, striking the fallen tree and pushing it into Kinsler and another member of the push team, the news release said.
“Wagner’s truck continued forward and was propelled into the work crew’s parked truck before coming to a stop,” the release reads.
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Kinsler was taken to a nearby hospital and died from his injuries, deputies announced.
His coworker was treated and released from a hospital.
According to investigators, Wagner had been heading to work at the time, as he was also employed by Polk County Roads and Drainage. He reportedly didn’t show signs of impairment, and it was dark and windy at the time of the crash, according to officials.
“(Wagner) told deputies that he did not see the four-man work crew or their truck that was parked with lights and strobes on, illuminating them,” detectives said. “The crew was also wearing their county-issued reflective vests and/or bright yellow rain gear.”
The road was closed for about four hours following the crash. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and no additional information has been provided at this time.
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