NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The Public Works employee killed after he was struck by a garbage truck is identified as Chandler Harris, 19, of Timberside Drive.
The driver, Larry Trenary, 58, of Swindale Road, backed into an alley near 5th Avenue North and Commerce Street just after 11 p.m. Harris and his co-worker, Gary Harrington, 57, of Oneida Avenue, were standing on the back of the truck.
Harris was on the passenger side and Harrington on the driver’s side. Harris was pinned between the truck and wall before he fell under the rear passenger tires.
Harris died at the scene.
Trenary, who reportedly didn’t realize he hit Harris, pulled forward after the victim was pinned to the wall and ran him over again, according to WSMV.
“The subject was dislodged from the truck, fallen to the ground. Driver did not know that he had fallen off the truck, so when he continued to back, he ran over the subject,” said Metro PD Capt. Jason Starling.
There was no evidence of drug or alcohol involvement.
From WSMV: = Jenna Smith, spokeswoman for Metro Public Works, said they have not had a tragedy like this in the 20 years she has been with the department.
“We’ll be looking at every aspect of safety that this job entails … from equipment to protective wear to standard operating procedures, and reinforcing things that we already do,” Smith said. “We have a very aggressive OSHA training program in place, but we’ll be going back through every single bit of that to make sure there’s not anything we can do to make it safer.”
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration said this is the first on-the-job fatality it has documented at Metro Public Works since they started keeping records in 1985.
“We are all shaken up,” Smith said. “This is a dangerous job, no matter how you slice it. But you certainly don’t expect something like this.” =
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean issued the following statement about the incident:
“Our hearts go out to Chandler Harris’ family and friends, including his father, another dedicated Metro employee. Chandler died tragically while serving our city. We value the work he did, and we grieve the loss of his life.”
