Student struck, killed by a garbage truck in Sheboygan

An 18-year-old student was struck by a city of Sheboygan garbage truck Tuesday morning and died from his injuries.

Jaime Olivas was struck just before 9 a.m. while crossing N. 6th St at New York Ave in the downtown area. Olivas was taken from the scene with critical head and internal injuries and transported to Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center where he died.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, officials indicated Olivas was a senior at Tower Academy, which is close to the accident scene. The school is a small, alternative school for students with emotional troubles, and Olivas' friends say he was getting his life on track. They say he was an "incredible, outgoing young man who enjoyed working with elementary kids."

The driver of the garbage truck, Gary Niemann, has worked for the city for 38 years and was to retire in the next ten days. He is said to be "distraught" over the accident. FOX6 called Niemann's home Tuesday evening and a woman said "no comment."

The truck involved in this incident was a tandem axle dump truck equipped with leaf vacuum equipment. Tuesday was the last day of leaf pickup in Sheboygan. A Sheboygan police spokesperson says the truck was collecting leaves when it struck Olivas.

The state’s accident reconstruction team was called in to investigate. There were no cars parked along the sides of the road to suggest limited visibility for either the pedestrian or truck driver.

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