Slick Roads Create Rough Ride for City Trash Crew

Three members of the Memphis City Sanitation Department were uninjured Friday morning after the city’s trash truck overturned after sliding down an embankment after slipping off an alley during trash collection.

The accident occurred when the trash truck was attempting to back out of an alley off of Jackson Street. The vehicle began sliding to the north side of the alley way and began to slide down the steep embankment.

Two city sanitation employees were positioned on the back of the truck waiting for the next stop. They were able to bail off the truck before it overturned and were uninjured.

The truck overturned, coming to rest on the driver’s side. Ambulance and Fire and Rescue personnel were able to assist the driver in exiting from the passenger side of the truck.

He was taken to Scotland County Hospital for observation and was released.

Lakeside Towing of Memphis was able to use cables to pull the truck back upright and tow it to the sanitation facility.

City Administrator Allen Creek indicated the truck appears to have only suffered some minor cosmetic damage. He indicated it would be left to set over the weekend before a more thorough review on Monday to allow all of the fluids levels to return to normal before firing the truck up to check for further damage.