LAKELAND, Fla. — A man is dead after he was hit by a Publix semi-truck while lying in the roadway in Lakeland, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
It happened around 12:30 a.m. Monday on New Tampa Highway just west of Pine Chase Avenue in Lakeland. A Publix employee who had just ended his shift was returning a semi-truck to the Publix warehouse and driving east on New Tampa Highway.
As he was driving, the truck driver reportedly saw a man lying face down in the middle of the eastbound lane of New Tampa Highway and tried to avoid hitting him. He wasn't able to and hit the 34-year-old man from Lakeland.
The man died at the crash site, officials say. The man's family reportedly told deputies he had been drinking at a bar located just west of the crash site earlier Sunday evening.
He had driven his motorcycle to the bar but was reportedly too drunk to drive. Because of this, he reportedly told people at the bar that he was going to walk home.
The roadway was reportedly closed for several hours overnight while the sheriff's office investigated but has since reopened.
