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Truck Accident | Video Transcript
MALE VOICE: Allied Waste broke the law of West Virginia and the federal government with deadly consequences. Allied even disregarded its own policies and procedures that play lip service to obeying the laws that protect its drivers and the public. Worst of all, some of Allied's violations were clearly and unambiguously intentional, deliberate decisions to break the law.
FEMALE VOICE: A 34-year-old Marshall County man is dead after the garbage truck he was driving plunged to the bottom of a ravine. Now this was the scene on Roberts Ridge Road earlier yesterday. Witnesses say the truck hit one side of the road, flipped on its side, and slid through the guardrail. Roberts Ridge Road was closed for hours while crews pulled the wreckage from the woods. Many questions remain unanswered this morning, including how the accident happened. News 9's Danielle Frizzy has more on the story.
DANIELLE FRIZZY: A garbage truck tumbled from Roberts Ridge Road to a ravine below just 500 feet from a group of trailers. The 34-year-old man driving the garbage truck was killed.
MALE VOICE: The West Virginia Public Service Commission and the Department of Transportation will be examining the brakes and the gear systems of the truck to try and determine the cause of the accident. American Disposal, the company which owns the truck, refused comment.
MALE VOICE: Investigation through the courts has now proven that Allied Waste was responsible for Scott Evans' death.
MALE VOICE: Chillingly, it has come to light that the defendants had repeated warnings that their lax attitude toward safety was a tragedy waiting to happen.
MALE VOICE: Maintenance records detailing the lengthy history of brake problems with the truck Scotty was driving as well as problems with the throttle have also now come to light. Several Allied employees have testified that the trucks were always breaking down and that maintenance was frequently delayed while parts were supposedly on order.
MALE VOICE: How about if I'm coming down a hill and I step on these brakes, I stand on them, will they slow me down?
MALE VOICE: With the amount of load you're talking, it's possible it might slow it down. I don't believe that it would stop it.
MALE VOICE: Do you remember anything about the truck from Friday's--from a mechanical standpoint as far as during the route that they--whether there were any problems?
MALE VOICE: Yeah, the throttle spring had broke on it toward the end of the day. And the brakes needed adjusted at the end of the day, too.
MALE VOICE: Well, I noticed that the linkage is worn. And I noticed that the linkage is broken.
MALE VOICE: Have you examined the shifting linkage?
MALE VOICE: Just the day that we removed it up there. I just wanted to make sure that it was available to be seen.
MALE VOICE: Have you done examination on it yet?
MALE VOICE: We examined it the day of the inspection up there, yes.
MALE VOICE: And what did that examination show?
MALE VOICE: That it was worn out. That would definitely increase the ability or inability to properly shift that truck.
MALE VOICE: Those who God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
