SEFFNER - A 43-year-old man was killed Wednesday afternoon when a backhoe overturned and pinned him against a mound of dirt.
Hillsborough sheriff's deputies said Keith Merando, 43, of Plant City was installing a new septic tank at a home at 1906 Elise Marie Drive in Seffner when the accident happened.
He was standing in a pit about 6 feet deep, they said, and the backhoe was parked beside the hole. For unknown reasons, the backhoe slid into the pit, and the protractor arm pinned Merando, an employee of Quality Septic Tank Co. in Plant City.
He died at the scene.
Detectives were still investigating the incident Wednesday evening, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration had been notified.
