A Sri Lankan traffic enforcement agent was struck and killed by an industrial street-cleaning truck amid throngs of holiday shoppers in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday in what New York City officials said was most likely an accident.

 The officer, whom the Police Department identified as Kalyanarat Ranasinghe, was struck at about 2:30 p.m. at 6 East 44th Street near Fifth Avenue, a Fire Department spokesman said.

The truck, which contractors can rent to clear debris, had been parked on the curb and was pulling into traffic when it struck Mr. Ranasinghe, 71, who was standing in the street, Deputy Chief Kim Royster said. It was not immediately clear what he was doing, but he was on duty, Chief Royster said. After the accident, a bus struck the truck, she said.

Mr. Ranasinghe was pinned under the truck’s front right wheel for over two and a half hours. No one else was injured.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who arrived on the scene about an hour after Mr. Ranasinghe was hit, said it appeared to have been an accident. “It’s a dangerous job, and they don’t make a lot of money,” he said of traffic enforcement agents.

The 3,000 or so traffic enforcement agents in New York spend their days either directing traffic, checking parking meters, writing summonses or fending off insults from motorists. Their salaries start at about $29,000 a year.

Syed Rahim, a vice president in the union that oversees the traffic agents, said Mr. Ranasinghe was from Sri Lanka and had a wife and a daughter. He was a level-two traffic enforcement agent, meaning that he was required to write summonses as well as direct traffic. Ten days ago, Mr. Rahim said, Mr. Ranasinghe called him to complain that he was having trouble working in the cold. Mr. Rahim said he had mobility problems.

Alhadji Niang, 29, a vendor selling winter wear on 44th Street, said Mr. Ranasinghe often patrolled the area. “He used to give me tickets all the time,” Mr. Niang said, “but we became cool after a while.” – The New York Times