Hamilton: Man hit, killed by runaway dump truck while checking mail

According to Hamilton Police Chief Keith Madison, the brakes of an unattended dump truck failed causing the truck to roll backwards hitting and killing a man Monday afternoon.

The man killed has been identified as William Shanafelt, 65.

The dump truck came to a stop when it struck a large tree in the yard.

Officers who arrived on the scene found Shanafelt lying unconscious in the yard. Hamilton County Judge Tynes, pronounced the mead dead at the scene.

The driver who later came out of the store, saw the truck had rolled across the street and moved it back into the Ranglers parking lot, then noticed Shanafelt laying in the front yard and he called 911 for help.

According to a Hamilton Police Press release, investigators believe Shanafelt come out to check his mailbox and was walking back into his house with his back turned to the parking lot when he was struck by the rolling dump truck.

The Department of Public Safety performed an inspection of the dump truck and found numerous violations. The truck was red tagged and put out of operational service.

The main violation was a defective parking brake, the driver was cited for the brake violation and released at the scene. There are no criminal charges being filed at this time.