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DUANE BOURNEThe Highway Patrol says the pickup driver may have glanced at a map when he lost control of his vehicle.
SHADY HILLS - An 83-year-old man was mowing his daughter's lawn Thursday morning when he was struck head-on by a pickup and killed.
The truck's driver, Raymond L. Burgin, 45, of 13333 Neptune Drive, Hudson, was lost in the Shady Hills section of Pasco County when he peered down at a map, veered onto the roadway's shoulder and drove into Frank Orski, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Burgin was traveling west about 8:35 a.m. on Platinum Drive, a quiet residential community just south of the Hernando County border off Shady Hills Road, when the accident occurred.
According to FHP spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins, Burgin might have lowered his head to look at a map when the pickup veered onto the lawn at 16204 Platinum Drive, where he drove head-on into Orski, who was seated on a Murray tractor mower.
Used for landscaping, the Dodge pickup was carrying a load of mulch.
"The guy was lost and evidently the truck drifted off the road," said Coggins, who responded to the scene.
Orski, who lives in Brookridge, a gated mobile home community, had been mowing the lawn for his daughter, Lorraine Weeks.
The truck careered onto a 12-foot swath of grass between the right of way and Weeks' front fence, and struck Orski head-on. The impact knocked Orski from the mower, the report said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hernando County property records show that Orski purchased a home in Brookridge with his wife, Florence, in 1993. Relatives could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
While charges in the fatal accident are pending, much of FHP's investigation will focus on Burgin's driving and the period leading up to the accident.
Burgin has a Class D license to operate a truck or truck trailer more than 8,000 pounds, but less than 26,001 pounds, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Burgin has a spotty driving history, including a March 2000 traffic accident in Tarpon Springs, motor vehicle records show. According to records, Burgin has been arrested twice for driving under the influence, once in Georgia in 1991. His license was revoked for five years after that infraction.
Burgin was also arrested by Polk County sheriff's deputies on the suspicion on drunken driving in March 1992. He later pleaded no contest to the charges, received one year's probation and was ordered to attend DWI traffic school.
In June, Burgin was arrested in Tarpon Springs after he was accused of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Authorities do not suspect that drugs or alcohol played a role in Thursday's accident.
From the preliminary investigation, troopers believe that Orski's death was an accident due largely to a momentary lapse of attention.
"This is just a prime example of driver distraction," Coggins said.
Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114 or dbourne@sptimes.com