Inset: Tyrah Adams (WDRB/YouTube). Background: A photo of a Louisville, Ky., garbage truck’s hydraulic arm and claw (WHAS/YouTube).
A tragic incident in Kentucky has sparked a legal battle after a homeless woman was reportedly killed by a garbage truck during an alley cleanup. The family of the victim, Tyrah Adams, a 35-year-old woman, has filed a lawsuit alleging that the truck’s hydraulic trash claw fatally injured her by compressing her body and then discarding her without adhering to necessary safety measures.
The lawsuit, as reported by Louisville Public Media, contends that Louisville Metro was aware, or should have been aware, of the presence of homeless and vulnerable individuals in the areas targeted for cleanup by Public Works operations. The family argues that the city’s negligence contributed to the tragic incident that occurred in February.
According to the lawsuit, Adams was lying in a cardboard box amid debris when the garbage truck’s hydraulic claw, also known as a knuckle boom, inadvertently picked her up. Her family accuses the city and sanitation workers of “gross negligence” and “reckless conduct,” claiming these actions resulted in her wrongful death.
The complaint further specifies that two unnamed workers did not adhere to established safety procedures while operating the equipment. Stephanie Rivas, the family’s attorney, described the harrowing event to NBC affiliate WSMV, stating, “They physically picked her up with that claw, squeezed her, compressed her, and dropped her,” underscoring the gravity of the allegations presented in their legal action.
More specifically, the complaint alleges that two unnamed workers failed to follow the city’s written safety practices for operating the truck’s hydraulic claw, also known as a knuckle boom, LPM reports.
“They physically picked her up with that claw, squeezed her, compressed her, and dropped her,” the family’s attorney, Stephanie Rivas, told NBC affiliate WSMV in April before filing their lawsuit.
“[The workers] left her there to find her own help,” Rivas said.
According to the complaint, Adams had to shuffle her battered body to a nearby J&M Food Mart while suffering from fatal and “catastrophic” injuries. A store clerk called 911 after Adams stumbled in, screaming for help.
“The woman laying on the floor was ‘turning colors no white woman should be,’” the complaint says, citing an alleged statement made by a person in the store.
Adams died from her injuries; a coroner’s report stated she succumbed to severe blunt force and compressional trauma.
The city and sanitation workers “breached” a duty of care to Adams by “failing to maintain a proper lookout, failing to inspect the work area, failing to keep personnel clear of the operation zone, failing to use proper spotting procedures, failing to supervise employees, failing to enforce safety procedures, and otherwise failing to exercise reasonable care,” according to the complaint.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg reportedly released a statement after the incident saying garbage crews were cleaning the alley when the truck accidentally picked up Adams. Greenberg said the workers did not see her.
A spokesperson for Greenberg told the Courier Journal his office’s “thoughts and condolences remain with the victim’s family.” They declined to comment on the lawsuit.
