Inset: Tyrah Adams (WDRB/YouTube). Background: A photo of a Louisville, Ky., garbage truck's hydraulic arm and claw (WHAS/YouTube).
A homeless Kentucky woman was allegedly killed by a garbage truck during a "horrific" alley cleanup incident.
Her family claims in a new lawsuit that the truck's hydraulic trash claw picked the 35-year-old up, compressed her body, then dumped the woman in an alley without following proper safety protocols.
"[Louisville Metro] knew or should have known that homeless individuals and vulnerable person(s) occupied alleys, debris piles, and cleanup locations targeted during Public Works operations," the legal complaint states, according to Louisville Public Media.
The family of Tyrah Adams says she was killed in February by a Louisville Metro garbage truck that scooped her up while she was lying in a cardboard box near an area surrounded by trash. They have accused the city and sanitation workers of "gross negligence" and "reckless conduct" that ultimately led to Adams' wrongful death.
More specifically, the complaint alleges that two unnamed workers failed to follow the city's written safety practices for operating the truck's hydraulic claw, also known as a knuckle boom, LPM reports.
"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.