Florida man dies after being sucked under street sweeper
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Jason Mealey, KJTX
JACKSONVILLE, Florida – A street sweeper operator was killed in Mandarin Saturday when he was sucked underneath the machine, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials believe the man was trying to get something from under the machine in a parking lot behind a McDonald’s restaurant at the intersection of Lorettor Road and San Jose Boulevard when he was sucked underneath it.
Jay Maust showed up shortly after the incident. He too works in a profession with risk. He said seeing the scene hit him personally.
“I own a roofing company, and to see these types of things happen, it’s horrific. It’s awful,” Maust said. “God, I just can’t believe it.”
JSO Sgt. Mark Musser said police worked throughout the day to get in touch with both the man’s family and his employer to break the horrifying news. Investigators said they’re also trying to gather information on how this exactly happened.
“Businesses in the area had some surveillance. We’ll be reviewing that to see what occurred. No foul play. (It) appears to be a terrible accident at this point,” Musser said.
The man’s identity has not been released and there was no word on what company employed him.
This article was originally published by fellow CNN affiliate WJXT. It is used here with permission.