Bronx Garbage truck driver who killed pedestrian had killed another one 6 months before

In a previous post we mentioned that a pedestrian was fatally struck by a garbage truck belonging to Sanitation Salvage two weeks ago in the Bronx. Leon Clark, a man in his 70ies who was living in Adams Houses was walking on E. 152nd St. near Jackson Ave in Morrisiana when he was fatally struck by a private garbage truck driven by 33 year old Sean Spence. It is the second time in less than 6 months that Spence killed a pedestrian while driving his truck.

On November 7, Spence was driving his truck when he fatally ran over 21 year old Mouctar Diallo, an off-the books employee who was helping him. Diallo was standing on the the steps leading to the passenger’s door when he lost  his grip,  fell under the truck’s rear wheels and died. Spence initially lied to the police and claimed that the victim was a crazy homeless man who tried to jumped on the side of his truck.

Sanitation Salvage has a history of safety violations

Sean Spence wasn’t charged after Mouctar Diallo’s death. His driving licence stayed valid and he continued to drive for his employer Sanitation Salvage. So far  Spence hasn’t been charged in the second accident but he was suspended from his job. The Business Integrity Commission also asked for Spence’s commercial license suspension and started to investigate Sanitation Salvage and its practices. The Bronx company may see its license revoked if the BIC investigation concludes that the company operations are unsafe.

Sanitation Salvage is one of the largest private sanitation company in the Bronx. The company has a history of safety violations. Each times the company was inspected safety violations were found. In 10 recent inspections, the violations were so serious that trucks had to be pulled out of service. A previous employee told the Daily News that the company forces the truck drivers to work 16 hours a day. Drivers are assigned routes that are so big that they have to rush to cover them.

Read more in the NY Daily News