Polk County employee hit, killed by car during Hurricane Milton recovery efforts

LAKELAND, Fla. - A Polk County employee was hit and killed by a vehicle while crews were working on Hurricane Milton recovery in Fort Meade Thursday morning.

Officials said the accident happened on US 98 near Brooke Road at around 5:45 a.m. Polk County Fire Rescue and the Polk County Sheriff's Office responded to the area after a call involving two County Roads and Drainage employees.

A county crew was working on cutting down a tree that fell during the storm and was blocking US 98, according to officials. That's when a vehicle hit 68-year-old Bruce Kinsler, a Fort Meade Maintenance Unit Service worker.

Grady Judd on Hurricane Milton's deadly impact

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd joined FOX 13 News to discuss Hurricane Milton's impact on Polk County, with one death in the county confirmed so far.

Kinsler, who's worked for Polk for about a decade, was killed, the county said.

The driver of the vehicle was another Polk County employee, who was coming to join the crew for post-storm recovery. Officials said the employee was taken to the hospital, but has since been released. Deputies said he showed no signs of impairment after the crash.

"The tragedy of this incident is compounded by the fact that Bruce Kinsler was killed serving the residents of this county," said Bill Braswell, the Polk County Commission's board chair. "We ask a lot of the employees as public servants, and they respond to the call. For this to happen is just a tragedy."

County officials said safety precautions were in place and the employees were wearing protective equipment when the crash happened. This is the second roadwork-related death in the division in the past 20 years, the county said.

The road was closed for about four hours as deputies investigated the crash.

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Deputies took a photo of this vehicle on Reynolds Road near Main Avenue in Lakeland on Wednesday. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office

Evacuees staying in Polk County

Coastal evacuees staying in Polk County

FOX 13's Craig Patrick talked with people living on Florida's Gulf coast who evacuated inland ahead of Hurricane Milton. Polk County felt serious impacts from the storm as it moved through the region.

FOX 13's Craig Patrick spoke with people staying at a Lakeland hotel after evacuating from homes closer to the Gulf coast.

"My next-door neighbor sent me a picture and the guy's house is, like gone," said one woman who evacuated from Zephyrhills. "The whole house is ripped off, and it's sad because it hadn't even started yet."

Evacuees also told FOX 13 they're anxious to get home, but as Sheriff Judd re-iterated, people are being asked to stay where they are while damage assessments are conducted.

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