Midwest City man mowing lawn killed by truck

A 59-year-old man was killed Saturday afternoon after being hit by a commercial truck while mowing his front yard.  Officers responded to the 13000 block of Red Oak Drive in reference to an injury accident around 1 p.m.

When they arrived, they found James R. Johnson pinned underneath a commercial box truck.  Johnson died at the scene.

According to witnesses, the commercial box truck was traveling northeast on the residential street when the 28-year-old driver became distracted.  The truck left the roadway and collided with a brick mailbox.  At the same time, Johnson had just started his push lawn mower and was walking towards the street, mowing a small strip of grass adjacent to his driveway.

After the truck hit the mailbox, it traveled through the victim’s front yard and then struck Johnson, killing him.  The truck continued northeast through the next door neighbor’s yard and finally stopped when it hit the house causing considerable damage.

“You would never expect anything like this to happen on a quiet residential street.  It was just a freak accident but sadly took the life of a man who was just mowing his lawn,” Chief Brandon Clabes said.

The driver of the truck was taken to an area hospital for a chemical blood test and later released.  Investigators will confer with the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office on possible charges this week.  The accident was captured on surveillance video from a nearby house.