CHIPLEY, Fla. (AP) — Three utility company linemen were killed after a pickup truck pulling a U-Haul trailer hit them while they were repairing lines damaged by Hurricane Michael in Florida's Panhandle.
The Florida Highway Patrol says the crash happened Wednesday evening near Chipley, which is north of Panama City.
Sgt. R.C. Livingston says the vehicle was driving on State Road 77 when it went onto the shoulder and struck the men.
Livingston says 52-year-old George Cecil of Cole Rain, North Carolina, and 60-year-old James Ussery of Chipley, Florida, died. The injured man, described as a 22-year-old Ryan Barrett from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, was taken to a hospital for treatment but later died.
The highway patrol says 37-year-old John Goedtke of Tampa is charged with DUI manslaughter, felony vehicular homicide and leaving the scene.
