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2 Public Works Employees Hit By Pickup; 1 Dies

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By NEIL JOHNSON

njohnson@tampatrib.com

Published: October 20, 2008

TAMPA - A truck plowed into two Tampa Public Works employees while they were putting down traffic counters Sunday morning, killing one.

Miguel Mercado died at the scene; Joseph Campbell went to the hospital with a possible broken leg.

Shortly before 8 a.m., a white Mazda pickup veered into the center lane of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near 53rd Street, where the two had parked their truck.

The Mazda's driver, Aaron Swanson, 25, of Riverview, wasn't hurt but was taken to Tampa General Hospital for blood tests. There was "some indication," based on evidence found in the vehicle, that alcohol may have been involved, said Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

Swanson was not arrested.

Mercado, 65, of Tampa, started with the city in 1984. Campbell, 36, had been on the job since 1994.

"They did everything right," McElroy said. "They were wearing the safety vests. The lights were flashing, and for some unknown reason, this vehicle swerved into the center lane and crashed into them."

The crash is being investigated.

Mercado's family, including his four children, gathered at his Ybor City home Sunday to console his wife, Gloria.

Reporter Rich Shopes contributed to this report.

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