Orlando Sentinel

Body found in submerged pickup in Port St. Lucie

- By Will Greenlee

PORT ST. LUCIE — Officials on Thursday recovered the body of a man from a truck that apparently ran off the Green River Parkway and wound up in a canal, according to Port St. Lucie police.

About 7 a.m., a passerby on the Green River Parkway saw the roof of a truck submerged in a canal just west of the roadway, said Master Sgt. Frank Sabol, police spokesman.

Police and St. Lucie County Fire District crews came to the scene.

“Unfortunat­ely, they pulled a lifeless body of a man out of the truck,” Sabol said from the scene. “We were unable to find any other victims.”

He said an initial investigat­ion determined the driver of the truck was traveling north on Green River Parkway south of Southeast Melaleuca Boulevard when the driver veered off the road and into the canal.

Police are working to identify the man.

Several law enforcemen­t ve- hicles crowded the scene early Thursday, as cyclists made their way past on a paved pathway east of Green River Parkway.

Linda Smith, who said she lives in the area and frequently jogs here, was overcome with emotion.

“My heart feels very heavy for a life taken, even if someone was culpable, I just know that they had a family and people who loved them so that is why I feel so bad,” she said. “It affects ultimately so many people, and that breaks my heart.”

East of U.S. 1 in southern Port St. Lucie, Green River Parkway has one lane going north and one south.

“They’re always in a rush on this road and it’s crazy,” Smith said. “I’ve had close calls with cars, they try to speed and pass people it’s real bad here.”

Carl Turner also came to the scene Thursday. He said he has lived in the area for more than a decade.

He said he rides a bicycle and walks here regularly.

“Obviously, this is peak hour,” he said. “I usually get out here between 7 and 7:30.”

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