Woman who worked on Lexington garbage truck dies four days after job injury
A 30-year-old contract employee who worked on a Lexington city garbage truck was injured on the job and died on Friday, according to her employer and the Fayette County coroner’s office.
Whitney Gardner of Lexington died of head trauma at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to a written release from the Fayette County coroner’s office.
Gardner’s mother, Peggy Roark, said her daughter was her best friend, a bright light that made everyone smile.
“She was a beautiful girl inside and out,” Roark said. “She was smart. She was artistic. She always had a smile for you. Everybody loved her. She had a great personality. She was down to earth . . . there was nothing she couldn’t do. She was my best friend and my sunshine.”
Gardner’s death has been ruled an accident but how Gardner died was under investigation Tuesday. Few details were released, frustrating her employer, family and waste management employees. According to the coroner’s office, the incident happened on Lancelot Lane.
Gardner was a contract employee for Labor Works, which provides staffing to the Lexington Division of Waste Management. As part of the job, Gardner rode with city-employed drivers. Her duties included getting in and out of the truck to pick up loose garbage and retrieving and replacing trash cans. Employees can ride on the outside or back of the truck but only under limited circumstances, mostly on small residential streets in neighborhoods.
It’s not clear if Gardner was on the back of the truck and fell off.
“All we have been told is that she was found lying on the ground,” said Derek Gabriel, chief executive officer of Labor Works. “We can’t express enough how awful we feel for her and her family. “
“We are still trying to figure out what happened and why,” Gabriel said. “We have not been given any other information other than she was hurt on Monday.”
Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city, said Labor Works has been given information about the accident.
“We have contacted Labor Works several times about this unfortunate incident and provided appropriate information promptly,” she said.
The city has referred all questions about Gardner’s death to Labor Works and the Fayette County coroner’s office. According to a coroner’s news release, the office was not disclosing further details about Gardner’s death.
“There is no further information to release at this time,” the statement said. “Any further information will be issued as a new press release.”
The American Federation of State, Local and Municipal Employees Council 962, which represents Lexington city waste management employees, said it, too, has been frustrated about the lack of information about what happened to Gardner. As a contract employee, Gardner was not a member of AFSME. But that doesn’t matter, a spokesman for the local chapter said.
“This was a tragic event during a time that is already testing us on nearly every level,” said Ron Richmond, director of communications for AFSME Council 962. “Whitney was one of us. Union, nonunion, city employee, Labor Works — it doesn’t matter. What we do is not glamorous. It’s not easy and definitely unsafe at times. This week we lost one of our family.”
The union is raising money to help pay for Gardner’s funeral expenses. Gardner also had a daughter, Roark said.
“I have heard a lot about what may have happened to her,” Roark said. “But I don’t know. Everything that I have had to find out, I’ve had to find out on my own. No one even contacted me when she was taken to the hospital. I only found out because when she was taken to the University of Kentucky hospital, an ICU nurse answered the phone.”
Roark said she was especially thankful to the waste management employees who have helped her during the past week.
“They have really shown me so much compassion,” Roark said. “Their hearts are just as broken as mine. They loved her.”
Gabriel said Gardner has worked for Labor Works since 2015. She frequently worked as an employee in waste management.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 1:24 PM.
