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Washington man hit, killed by street sweeper

By Ray Downs

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- One man is dead in Bellevue, Wa. after he was hit and killed by a street sweeper vehicle, police said Monday.

Police were called to the scene late Monday morning and found the 44-year-old man underneath the street sweeper. A preliminary investigation found that the vehicle, which was operated by a private contractor, was backing up in a closed lane when the man was struck.

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"The driver of the sweeper truck is cooperating with the investigation, and no impairment is suspected on the part of the truck driver," police said in a statement.

There was no sidewalk on the street where the incident occurred, the Seattle Times reported. The location was also next to the site of a large construction project for an apartment building.

Police were called onto the scene at 10:49 a.m. and the victim's body was still caught under the vehicle as of 12:44 p.m., according to KIRO-TV.

The victim has not yet been publicly identified.

Several people have been killed in street sweeping accidents across the country in recent years.

In June, a Florida man was killed by a street sweeper after he got caught underneath the vehicle while trying to clear an object from the sweeping machine.

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In October, the widow of a New York City sanitation worker who died after getting hit by a runaway street sweeper in 2014 was awarded $41.5 million.

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