The driver of a cement mixing truck suffered a heart attack prior to the vehicle knocking out trees and crashing into a fence at Manatee Recreation Center.
The accident happened at 1:57p.m. Wednesday in the 5100 block of Hillsborough Trail.
The Florida Highway Patrol report indicates that the driver, Richard Hightower, 62, of Summerfield, suffered a blackout.
Hightower’s boss said Hightower suffered a heart attack.
The cement mixer, owned and operated by Xpress Materials LLC, was traveling west on Hillsborough Trail in the area of Inverary Avenue.
After Hightower suffered the heart attack, the front bumper of the vehicle hit a tree. The cement mixer then traveled across the lawn of Manatee Rec Center striking another tree and then a perimeter fence surrounding the tennis courts, according to the FHP report.
Two workers in another truck — Karl Mercer Kimmons of Fruitland Park and Arthell Williams of Brooksville — saw what was happening and jumped in to help.
Kimmons, who also works for Xpress Materials and is Hightower’s supervisor, was able to open the passenger door of the cement mixer and apply the brake. Williams, who works for Cemex, was able to cut off the vehicle’s engine.
Villages Public Safety Department and Rural Metro Ambulance responded to the scene.
“It was the actions of the Villages Public Safety that saved his life,” Kimmons said.
“We were able to help EMS lift him (Hightower) out of the truck,” Williams said.
Hightower was transported to Leesburg Regional Medical Center in critical condition. His condition has since been upgraded.
