Man Struck, Killed by 18-Wheel Truck

An unemployed man seeking work at a ranch Friday was struck and killed by an 18-wheel truck-trailer rig as he stood at the side of the road chatting with the ranch’s owner, sheriff’s deputies said.

The unidentified victim, described as being in his mid-20s, was walking along Trabuco Creek Road about 1 p.m. when he stopped outside of Leavitt’s Ranch and asked owner Morey Leavitt if work was available.

“He was just a fellow walking down the street,” Leavitt said. “There was a broken (water) line next to the side of the road that I was repairing, and he just approached me and started talking to me and asked if I had any work for him. . . . That’s when he got hit.”

Leavitt added that the driver of the truck, which was carrying sand and gravel, “ran over the fellow and kept driving,” apparently unaware of the accident. Leavitt said he flagged down the driver, who then stopped and returned to the accident scene.

Leavitt said deputies told him that the dead man apparently was from Salinas. A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department said the accident was under investigation.