POLK COUNTY, Fla — A Fort Meade Maintenance worker died early Thursday morning while clearing storm debris.
According to Polk County, the worker was clearing roads around 5:45 a.m. from US 98. The worker was in the process of cutting down a tree that was blocking a road when a vehicle struck the service worker.
Bruce Kinsler, 68, was killed in the crash.
According to the county, the driver of the vehicle was another Polk County employee who was driving in to help with post-storm recovery.
The driver was transported to the hospital.
Kinsler had served Polk County for about a decade, according to officials.
“We ask a lot of the employees as public servants, and they respond to the call. For this to happen is just a tragedy,” said Bill Braswell, Polk County Commission Board Chair.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
