Florida deputy fatally injured after a worker on a front-end loader struck him

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida officer working a night shift to maintain security at a construction site was hit and killed by an illegal immigrant running a front-end loader, according to authorities.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County said that Deputy Michael Hartwick began his shift just before the incident occurred late Thursday on Interstate 275.

When he was struck by the front end loader operated by the worker, he was blocking two lanes. The sheriff said that the employee drove about one mile before stopping in a parking area and informing another employee that he had murdered a cop.

He is accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident after initially providing a fake identity.