The Florida Highway Patrol said the maintenance worker who fell to his death from a pick-up truck in Orange Park Friday was riding on the tailgate and lost his balance for an unknown reason.
Troopers identified the man Friday as 36-year-old Avery Queely.
Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn spoke with a local mom who tried to save his life.
Alicia Seibert said Queely just had a new baby.
“He’s the sweetest guy you’ve ever met,” Seibert said. “It was uncalled for. It was unnecessary. Didn’t need to happen.”
Troopers said the incident happened Friday morning near Lombart Street and Crabapple Court.
Seibert knew Queely, as he did maintenance for the complex up the street.
She used her experience in the medical field to try to save Queely’s life Friday. She administering CPR until the ambulance arrived.
“I was going to try my hardest to keep him going, and when he was put in the ambulance he still had a pulse, so I was hoping for the best,” Seibert said. “He’s got a brand-new baby, and I feel sorry for his family. I prayed the whole time.”
FHP said there have been three crashes in the area where this occurred this year.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is aware people speed in the area and use it as a cut-through to Blanding. They’ve increased traffic enforcement in the area.
Friday’s horrors give Seibert a new perspective on her life.
“I worked at a doctor’s office. I’ve never seen something like this,” Seibert said. “It’s heartbreaking. ... Make sure you kiss and love on your family as much as you can, because you never know."
Riding the tailgate of a pick truck (or any vehicle) is plainly stupid and dangerous. This worker paid with his life for such stupidity.
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FHP: 36-year-old dies after falling from back of pickup truck
Incident reported in Orange Park residential area
By Crystal Chen - Assignment editor/reporter
November 10, 2017
ORANGE PARK, Fla. - A 36-year-old man died Friday afternoon after falling out of the back of a pickup truck and hitting the pavement in Orange Park, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers said two workers were in the back of a truck at Crabapple Court and Lombard Street in Orange Park when one fell out and hit the pavement.
Avery Queely died at the hospital.
The incident was reported south of Wells Road, in a residential area across from the Orange Park Mall.
It's unclear why Queely fell out of the truck.
No one else was injured.
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A 36-year-old Jacksonville man was killed Friday morning when he fell off a pickup truck on Lombard Street in Orange Park, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Avery L. Queely was pronounced dead at Orange Park Medical Center after the incident, which occurred just after 10 a.m., the Highway Patrol said.
Queely was riding on the tailgate of a Ford Ranger pickup when he lost his balance and fell onto the roadway just after driver Warren J. Miller turned off Crabapple Court, the Highway Patrol said. Another man who was riding in the pickup truck bed was not injured, investigators said.
The Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the incident.