Sacramento pays $750,000 to resolve claims over garbage truck collisions
The city of Sacramento last year paid $750,000 in settlements to two men after collisions with garbage trucks.
The city in October paid $550,000 to Antoine Liles following a collision with a solid waste truck in June, according to a settlement agreement The Sacramento Bee obtained through a request under the California Public Records Act. The collision occurred in June in East Sacramento on Folsom Boulevard near 34th Street, the agreement said.
City employee Christopher Brilliante was driving the truck, the agreement said. Brilliante, an integrated waste equipment operator, has been a city employee since 2015, according to a city roster. He remains a city employee, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.
It was the second large settlement the city paid to a man involving a collision with a solid waste truck in 2021.
The city in March paid a $200,000 settlement to a man named Arturo De La Cruz, according to a settlement agreement obtained from a public records request.
In June 2019, De La Cruz was parked on the shoulder of Interstate 80 near the Northgate Boulevard exit in North Sacramento when a solid waste truck swerved and hit his vehicle, according to a lawsuit he filed in Sacramento Court Superior Court. He jumped away and stumbled down an embankment, suffering injuries, the lawsuit said.
Integrated waste equipment operator Jason Cram, who was hired by the city in 2005, was the driver in that collision, the settlement said. He is still an employee, said Swanson
“As part of its commitment to fairness, justice and its residents, the City of Sacramento applies due diligence to every case it is involved in to determine the right legal response and best path forward. In light of the facts involved in these cases, it was appropriate to work with the plaintiffs to reach fair and reasonable agreements that resolve the issues and satisfy all parties,” Swanson said in a settlement.
Swanson did not answer questions about whether either of the employees had been disciplined.
“The City of Sacramento does not comment on individual personnel matters,” he said.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 5:25 AM.
