A 43-year-old Georgia man was killed in Cartersville on Dec. 26, 2018, after he was trapped between a sanitation truck and a utility pole in the town. The man was an inmate at Floyd County Prison who had volunteered for a sanitation job in the town. He was working with the Cartersville Sanitation Department when he was pinned to a utility pole after the garbage truck slammed into him while driving in reverse on Jones Street. The sanitation truck hit the pole, trapping the worker there.
The man had been riding on the back of the truck in order to pick up garbage from the side of the road. Reportedly, the truck ran off the road while moving in reverse, forcing him against the pole. A spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Corrections confirmed that the man was killed tragically in the truck accident after initially being taken to the hospital for treatment.
The man had been reportedly assigned for volunteer work in the area in order to help with excess waste collection following the Christmas holiday. He had been jailed on burglary and related charges at the Floyd County Prison and was beginning to enter the facility’s work-release program. The exact time of the vehicle crash was not reported, but corrections officials said that it appeared to take place sometime after lunch. The accident is reportedly under investigation by Georgia state police.
Commercial vehicle accidents can be especially dangerous, given the massive size and weight of most large trucks and heavy equipment. Pedestrians, cyclists or even passengers and drivers in smaller vehicles are far more likely to suffer severe injuries, permanent disabilities and even fatalities. People who have been injured in a truck accident caused by someone else’s negligent driving can work with a personal injury lawyer to seek compensation for their damages.
Source: Patch Cartersville, “Inmate Killed In Garbage Truck Accident In Cartersville“, Kristal Dixon, 12/26/2018