Silver State trucks had problems

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.

Silver State Disposal Co. trucks were put out of service 11 times in the past two years after failing roadside inspections, including five times for brake problems, according to Nevada Highway Patrol inspection reports.

The reports were released to the Sun on Tuesday as highway patrol investigators try to determine why a Silver State Disposal truck plunged down the side of Mount Charleston, killing two workers last month.

"They may need to put a little more emphasis on their maintenance program," Trooper Scott Beringer, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman, said. "If they're doing what they are supposed to be doing, these problems would be discovered before the trucks are dispatched."

Each of the highway patrol inspections took place after troopers stopped a truck on the roadway for mechanical or moving violations, Beringer said.

Troopers took the five trucks with brake problems off the road until the repairs were completed. Troopers found enough problems with six other Silver State trucks during roadside inspections since 1998 to put those out of service as well, with infractions from spilling a load on the roadway to inoperable taillights, according to the inspection reports.

Beringer said the investigation into the Dec. 20 crash that killed Silver State driver Larry Mitchell and worker Ilie Jones has not determined what caused the truck to go through a guardrail on State Road 158 and plummet 300 feet.

But Mitchell's widow, Sharon Mitchell, said her husband told her the truck wasn't safe.

"He complained every day about the trucks," she said. "They never repaired the brakes. He'd write it up, but they wouldn't be fixed."

Lee Haney, Silver State spokeswoman, said the accident investigation hasn't been finished and no conclusions have been made. She also said Silver State has "hundreds" of trucks and does occasionally encounter problems, but the maintenance department repairs them as soon as they are discovered and does preventive work on the fleet.

As for Sharon Mitchell's comments, Haney said the company doesn't comment on allegations.

While Beringer said Silver State had "more citations than we like to see," the company has not had a citation since May, and a truck has not been put out of service by a roadside inspection since March.

During 1998 and 1999 troopers conducted 32 roadside inspections after stopping Silver State trucks. On six occasions no violations were found, but several times numerous violations were cited on a single stop. One truck stopped in October 1998 had 20 violations including leaks, broken taillights, a broken windshield wiper and brake problems.

Silver State trucks underwent 30 inspections in 1998 and only two in 1999, but one of the more recent inspections -- in March -- put the truck out of service for brake problems, according to the reports.

At the accident scene, troopers found no skid marks before the truck crashed through the guardrail, Beringer said.

That means either there was a mechanical failure or Larry Mitchell didn't apply the brakes, he said.

Mitchell's brother, Kenny Mitchell, a Silver State employee, wrote up a repair report on that same truck 15 days before the fatal crash.

Kenny Mitchell told Las Vegas One, a cable news station, that the brakes weren't working well and needed to be adjusted.

Sharon Mitchell said her husband, who had worked for Silver State for 13 years, often complained about the trucks he drove, but never thought of quitting because he loved his job.

"He was proud of his job," she said.

The accident investigation may not be completed for another week, and then the finding will be forwarded to the Clark County District Attorney's office, Beringer said.

The truck plunged down a steep embankment and landed in a water holding pond for a golf course. The holding pond was drained, but investigators were not able to inspect the wreckage until last week, Beringer said.