On November 13, 2006, a street sweeper hit and fatally injured a Durham man while the vehicle was backing up.

Marvin Miller Martin, 82, a resident of Higbee Street where he was killed, died of his injuries at Duke University Hospital.

The street sweeper was driven by Penny Moore, 51, an employee of the Durham Solid Waste Management Department. Moore was backing the street sweeper up when it hit Martin and knocked him to the ground.

Solid Waste Management director Donald Long was shocked when he first heard of the incident. “Sweepers only go between three and five miles per hour,” he said.

Police have not filed charges against Moore, but are investigating whether this is a wrongful death. Long said he plans to launch a full-scale investigation into the incident.

This is the second death in 2006 caused by a Durham utility vehicle in the process of backing up. In October 2006, a construction worker was killed by a vehicle backing up on a job site. The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the October 2006 death.

Labor Department representatives could not be reached for comment.

Source: Brianne Dopart, “Street sweeper hits, kills 82-year-old pedestrian,” Herald Sun, November 13, 2006.