Wood planks injure excavator driver after truck crashes in St. Petersburg
(St. Petersburg Police Dept.)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - An excavator driver has serious injuries after being hit by 2x4 wooden planks that flew off a truck that crashed nearby in St. Petersburg Thursday morning.
It happened around 9 a.m. on the Pinellas Bayway near the entrance to Palma del Mar condominiums. St. Petersburg police say a Ford F350 was headed north when the driver left the roadway, hit a small utility box, crossed an empty ditch, and hit a palm tree.
Pieces of 2x4 wood planks flew out of the back of the truck and hit a man driving an excavator nearby. Police say the 46-year-old man from Miramar was hit in the chest and stomach.
He was taken to the hospital and was in critical condition.
The driver of the truck, a 43-year-old man from Thonotosassa, was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
No charges have been filed, however, police are still investigating the crash. They say drugs or alcohol were not a factor in the crash.