A man has been killed as the street sweeper vehicle he was operating crashed into the back of a dump truck and burst into flames.
Darwin Gordon Phillips, 44, of Leesburg, Florida, was pronounced dead at the scene after he slammed his 2006 GMC TK street sweeper into the dump truck north of Interstate 4 on Old Grade Road in north Polk County at around 8:42 a.m. on May 28, reports The Ledger.
The driver of the Peterbilt dump truck, Jason Lee Davis, was taken to Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport suffering minor injuries.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Davis had stopped to turn left into the Hilochee Wildlife Management Area when Phillips crashed into his truck, causing the sweeper to burst into flames.
The FHP said that alcohol was not a factor in the cause of the accident, reports Chronicle Online. Davis was also confirmed to be wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Elsewhere in Polk County, a 22-year-old motorcyclist died after being involved in a crash with another vehicle on Wednesday morning.
Polk County Sheriff's Office said Justin Barrier, of Lakeland, died after crashing his motorbike into a Hyundai Sonata on Kathleen Road and Oak Avenue NW.
As reported by The Ledger, Barrier was travelling south on his 2010 Kawasaki at high speeds on Kathleen Road when he struck the Hyundai as it made a left turn Kathleen Road onto Oak Avenue NW.
According to a police report, the impact hurled Barrier around 78 feet through the air before he hit a light pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said that Barrier was wearing full riding gear while traveling on his motorbike, including a helmet, leather jacket and riding gloves.
The two passengers of the Hyundai, 76-year-old driver Sandra McGinty and passenger Owen McGinty, 84, were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
According to FHP statistics, there have been more than 156,000 crashes in the state so far this year, including 1,135 in which a fatality has occurred.
Polk County has reported more than 4,700 crashes so far in 2019, with 40 of them involving a death.
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