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Lake Nona community holds vigil for man, 73, killed by garbage truck

By Angela Jacobs, WFTV.com
By Angela Jacobs, WFTV.com
More than 100 members of the Lake Nona community held a candlelight vigil Friday night for a 73-year-old man who was killed by a garbage truck on Dec. 20.
Jim Lear was walking his dog when he was hit by an Orange County contracted garbage truck, investigators said.
Lear was a Navy veteran who served as a police officer in California for 20 years and then a detective for another decade.
His family and friends were devastated by Lear’s death.
“He made an impression everywhere he went,” his daughter Heidi Lear said. “His whole life.”
Those in attendance didn't want the vigil to only be a remembrance of Jim Lear, but also a call to action to keep something like this from ever happening again.
“Not just for Jim, but for awareness, of this not happening to another family, or a kid, or an animal, or a person,” Lear’s step-son Drew Gooden said. “Just some awareness of, let’s not let this happen again.”
Florida Highway Patrol troopers were still working to determine if the driver involved in Lear’s death will face charges in the incident.

Cox Media Group

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