Forklift driver hits and kills woman while repairing hurricane damage, Florida cops say
A forklift driver hit and killed a woman while helping repair hurricane damage in Florida, officials said.
The 62-year-old was walking outside a coastal motel when the forklift ran into her Monday, Feb. 13, according to the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety. Police told WESH the person operating the forklift was carrying a load and didn’t see the woman before he struck her.
“Unfortunately, when someone told him to stop, he backed up and most likely ran over her again,” Michael Fowler, public safety director, told the TV station.
The woman was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. She was identified in a news release as Susan Brock, a resident of the motel.
After Brock’s death, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in an email to McClatchy News said it started an investigation and determined that an Orlando-area business called SPEC Building Materials Corporation was involved. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Feb. 16.
Shawn Brock, the deceased woman’s grandson, told WKMG the incident left him in disbelief and with unanswered questions. He also said he wished he had spent more time with his grandmother, who was known for making people smile.
“You take it for granted (because) you think they’re always gonna be there,” Shawn Brock told the TV station.
The crash happened at about 1:45 p.m. in the parking lot of the motel, located along South Atlantic Avenue in the Daytona Beach area. It was reported more than four months after Hurricane Ian battered parts of Florida with strong winds and heavy rain.
At the time of the crash, the forklift operator reportedly “was delivering materials to replace the roof which had been damaged during Hurricane Ian.” Officials said the driver is cooperating and called the crash a “tragic accident.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Forklift driver hits and kills woman while repairing hurricane damage, Florida cops say."
