LPD: Lakeland street sweeper hits, kills pedestrian in Polk County

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Lakeland Police Department is investigating after it says a pedestrian was hit and killed by a city street sweeper Thursday morning. 

Police say the street sweeper, who has been a city employee for 17 years, was traveling northbound on North Tennessee Avenue shortly before 4:45 a.m. for work when he felt like he hit something after turning right on East Oak Street. 

According to LPD, the street sweeper looked around and didn’t see anything so he kept driving east. As he moved forward, the street sweeper says he saw a pedestrian lying on the roadway behind the vehicle. 

Police say the driver immediately got out of the cab of the sweeper and called 911. 

The pedestrian died at the scene. The street sweeper was not injured. 

Detectives say they do not know why the pedestrian was in the roadway at the time of the crash. 

The pedestrian has not been identified, but police say he is in his 70s.