Garbage Truck Involved in a Fatal Pedestrian Accident in Riverside on Van Buren Boulevard

RIVERSIDE, CA (Oct. 23, 2020) – A fatal crash involving a pedestrian and a garbage truck was reported early Friday morning in Riverside.

The garbage truck accident was reported at about 6:40 am to California Highway Patrol.

The pedestrian was reported to be crossing an intersection of Van Buren Boulevard and Constable Road when they were hit by a trash truck. The identity of the victim has not been released. The details of the incident are being investigated by authorities.

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In the wake of this catastrophic accident, B&D Injury would like to address the laws covering garbage and trash trucks.

Our office is very familiar with garbage truck accidents. Read about our previous $5 million-settlement that we recovered for the victims of this fatal garbage truck collision against the City of Los Angeles.

Many garbage trucks travel their routes and pick up trash early in the morning to minimize interactions between other trucks and the public, who are still asleep. Garbage trucks have also changed so that the single operator or driver is now often standing while driving on the curbside rather than on the other side like in passenger vehicles. This creates new risks associated with decreased visibility in a large vehicle like a garbage truck, that already has many blind spots.

Many do not know this, but garbage trucks are also treated differently than passenger vehicles under the California Vehicle Code § 21059. Under this code, certain rules of the road do not apply to garbage trucks when they are engaged in the collection of garbage. If the truck’s all four turn signal lights are on and being flashed simultaneously, then garbage trucks are given an exemption from traveling only on the right-hand side of the road, traveling in bicycle lanes, traveling the opposite way down one-way streets, stopping behind a row of diagonally parked cars, and using up more than half the roadway.

These exemptions, however, do not apply when the garbage truck vehicle is being driven to and from work, and it does not relieve the driver of the garbage truck from the duty to drive with attention to the safety of everyone on the road, nor does it protect him or her from the consequences of accidents that occur.

Because this area of law is particularly complex, anyone involved in a fatal pedestrian accident with a garbage truck should contact an experienced garbage truck accident attorney at B&D Injury to assist in obtaining fair and just compensation for the injuries or wrongful death. B&D Injury is the premier law firm to handle these types of garbage truck cases, with a history in achieving multi-million dollar settlements for our clients who have been affected by garbage truck collisions.

Call B&D Injury TODAY if you or someone you know has been injured in a garbage truck accident. With over a decade of experience litigating complex personal injury cases, throughout California including Riverside, our team is ready to help all victims of personal injury claims.