Family of woman killed by Louisville garbage truck files wrongful death lawsuit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The family of Tyrah Adams filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Louisville Metro Government following the February incident in which she was killed by a garbage truck during an alley cleanup.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Stephanie Rivas on behalf of Adams' family, names Louisville Metro Government, Louisville Metro Public Works and the individual sanitation workers involved in the incident as defendants.

The incident occurred Feb. 12 just after 9 a.m. in the 2500 block of Cedar Street near 26th Street.

According to a filed police report, video from a nearby business shows the hydraulic arm and claw of a Louisville Metro garbage truck picking up a large pile of trash. After picking it up, the arm appears to put the pile back on the ground.

The operator of the arm stepped off the truck and walked toward the pile, returned to the driver's seat then pulled the truck forward, the report continued.

Adams was homeless, and those who knew her said she would often sleep in a large cardboard box near an area surrounded by trash. Rivas said Adams was picked up by the truck's claw and dropped somewhere around the alley. Witnesses said she then walked to the nearby J&M Food Mart in bad condition.

The store clerk called 911 after Adams ran in screaming for help. Another person in the store also called 911, telling EMS to hurry "because the woman laying on the floor was 'turning colors no white woman should be.'"

Adams later died from her injuries. The Jefferson County Coroner’s report confirmed Adams died from severe blunt force and compressional trauma.

In a statement, Rivas said the lawsuit alleges "multiple severe failures by the city and its operators" and it "seeks to uncover the complete truth regarding the circumstances" that caused Adams’ death, including getting access to the video of the incident.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in the days after the incident that garbage crews were cleaning an alley when the truck scooped up trash and didn't see Adams. Alley cleanups happen hundreds of times each day across the city, officials said.

The Metro Public Works employees involved were placed on administrative leave.