Garbage Truck Hits, Kills Pedestrian

A 65 year-old Palm Harbor man was hit and killed by a garbage truck Wednesday morning in the Highland Lakes community, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Investigators say at 8:43 a.m., a Solar Sanitation garbage truck was headed southbound on Glen More Ct. and stopped at a "T" type intersection where the road meets Highlands Blvd.

The garbage truck then made a left turn to travel east on Highlands Blvd. and hit James P. Algeri, who walked into the path of the truck. Algeri had been walking in the eastbound direction in the north shoulder of Highlands Blvd., according to investigators. There are no marked crosswalks where the accident occurred.

Algeri died at the scene. He owned a home in the Villas on the Green II subdivision, which is located on Glen More Ct., according to Pinellas County property records. Algeri lived here in Palm Harbor for part of the year and also lived in Massachusetts, according to Florida Highway Patrol Spokesperson Sgt. Steve Gaskins.

The driver of the 2007 Mack garbage truck was James Oberer, 56, of Oldsmar. He was not injured.

Palm Harbor Patch reader J. Peppe lives in Palm Harbor and took some photos of the accident scene. Peppe sent us the photos along with a description- 

"I heard sirens after 8:30 am this morning. On the way to take my child to school I noticed the street was blocked off. On my way home I took another direction which detoured me around the area that was blocked off. I parked on a side street and headed out to the scene (camera in hand) to see what was going on," said Peppe.

No charges have been filed in connection with the crash. Gaskins says the investigation is ongoing and it could take a few months until the final report is completed.