Garbage Truck Driver Charged with Midtown Deaths

A driver for a private garbage trucking company was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Police say that Auvryn Scarlett lost control of his truck on West 35th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues Tuesday night, fatally hitting a couple and injuring a man; they believe Scarlett had a seizure and note he recently stopped taking his seizure medication.

A passenger with Scarlett, who worked for Action Carting of Newark, NJ, told the police, per the NY Times, started to "[behave] erratically and began to foam at the mouth." The passenger tried to gain control of the steering wheel, but couldn't stop the truck from jumping the curb, barreling down the street, and hitting lamp posts, signs, the pedestrians and finally a storefront.

The slain couple were British tourists Jacklyn Timmons and Andrew Hardie of Yeovil, Somerset. They had been staying at the Comfort Inn nearby. A police spokeswoman told the Daily Mail, "He chose not to take his medication and killed two people as a consequence of that. I think he is okay now. If he is not in hospital he will be in the jail."

The third victim, Adayomi Henderson, suffered either two broken legs or a broken arm and leg; he is in serious but stable condition at Bellevue Hospital.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on February 14, 2008 9:09 AM

Comments [rss]

berniegoetz

This will be an episode of Law & Order next season only instead of being British, the slain couple will be African American and the truck driver will be a white supremacist.

The Edge

Well.

At least it wasn't Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez behind the wheel.

FrankMartin

The private truck are pretty bad. I've worked overnights and when the streets are empty they drive those massive trucks like life is one big video game.

And people working off hours are prone to abuse substances to help keep them up.

FrankMartin

The private truck are pretty bad. I've worked overnights and when the streets are empty they drive those massive trucks like life is one big video game.

And people working off hours are prone to abuse substances to help keep them up.

ptwnbkr

dovetailing with what #'s 8 and 11 say, yes, those private haulers are completely unregulared, and, considering the mob background/history of many companies that is no surprise. however, that is no excuse to start looking into them now and begin either enforcing existing regulations, developing new (appropriate) ones, or, simply banning them and putting all trash hauling into the hands of the nyc DOS. i have heard folks with a serious background in livable streets campaigns who would be more than happy to see the private haulers go.

i for one would be thrilled to not have to despair each time i see one as i ride my bike home late at night and fear for my life. indeed those drivers are completely. utterly ruthless and could not care less about the lives at stake on the roads.

drewo

Have to agree with Stripe (#8) -sanitation trucks are among the worst violators of rules of the road. At night in lower Manhattan, I routinely see garbage trucks go through red lights - as if collecting garbage is somehow above all recognized laws. And you can count on the NYPD not to ticket these trucks. Brothers-in-arms?

JMH

I stand corrected. I predicted yesterday that no charges would be filed and I was wrong.

However, I still believe that if there weren't the medication issue, and the driver had simply been driving too fast on a snowy night and lost control of the truck, charges would not have been filed.

JacqueMehoff

did they put something in his mouth?

stripe

I hope that this incident prompts officials to look more closely at the drivers and owners of private sanitation trucks.

They are one of the biggest killers of pedestrians and cyclists in NYC. Unregulated, non-Union, perhaps connected to the mafia killers. Jump on the sidwalk when you see one of those come by, oh wait, even the sidewalk isnt safe from them!

chuzzlewit

it's not even in their hometown paper yet. what a crappy way to go.

matty

If he was on an anti convulsant such as klonopin or something he might also have been charged for being under the influence while behind the wheel. I'm surprised he got this job. Sucks for everyone, however.

Toby von Meistersinger

According to the news last night, the sanitation company said they were prohibited by law to ask about the driver's medical condition basically hiring anyone with a CDL.

Banana

what a terrible way to die...and on vacation too!

FrankMartin

David: As to you point on Epilepsy. He went off his drugs, huge mistake that he should pay for. I have read that seizures account for just 1 in 10,000 accidents. Other natural deaths like heart attack and stroke account for 6 in 10,000 accidents. So do we start making sure our trash haulers are fit and heart healthy too? What about firemen and cops, if they're prone to heart disease?

Like I said, went of the drugs. He is to blame. For me it is that same as if he stopped paying attention to use his phone or eat an egg sandwich.

David McCaffredy

Aren't there a million other jobs for epileptics in the sanitation field that don't involve being behind the wheel of a huge vehicle? What company allows that to happen?

Rocknrope

Whatever happened to the driver of that white SUV who ran over that person during that brawl video that was posted here? That was sick to watch.