Tragic Incident: Lawsuit Filed After Woman Fatally Crushed by Garbage Truck Claw

A tragic incident in Kentucky has brought attention to an alleged fatality involving a homeless woman and a garbage truck during a cleanup operation in an alleyway.

In a recent lawsuit, the victim’s family contends that the 35-year-old woman was inadvertently picked up by the truck’s hydraulic trash claw, which then crushed her body and left her in the alley, allegedly bypassing essential safety measures.

The lawsuit highlights that “[Louisville Metro] knew or should have been aware that homeless individuals and other vulnerable persons were likely to be present in the alleys, debris piles, and cleanup sites targeted by Public Works activities,” according to a report by Louisville Public Media.

The family of Tyrah Adams alleges that in February, a Louisville Metro sanitation truck, while clearing debris, accidentally collected her as she rested in a cardboard box near garbage. They accuse the city and its sanitation employees of “gross negligence” and “reckless behavior,” claiming these actions resulted in Adams’ wrongful death.

The legal complaint goes further, asserting that two unnamed workers neglected the city’s established safety protocols for operating the truck’s hydraulic claw, known as a knuckle boom, as reported by LPM.

“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.