Lawsuit filed by daughters of killed Republic worker

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2001 | 9:58 a.m.

The daughters of a garbage worker have filed suit against Republic Services of Southern Nevada, claiming the company was "negligent and careless" in the death of their father and another man in a 1999 crash of a trash-collecting truck near Mount Charleston.

Monica and Marshanna Jones filed suit Wednesday in District Court in connection with the Dec. 20, 1999, death of Ilie Jones, 47, who was killed when the garbage truck in which he was a passenger plunged down a 300-foot gully after running off State Route 158.

Sharon Mitchell, wife of the truck's driver, 42-year-old Larry Mitchell, had filed a lawsuit against Republic, formerly Silver State Disposal, on April 20, 2000. Nearly a month later, the district attorney's office announced that the company would not face criminal charges in the incident.

Nevada Highway Patrol investigators found that at the time of the accident, 75 percent of the truck's air brakes were not making contact with the wheels when applied. That allegation was repeated in the Jones lawsuit, which claims that the brakes were 79.4 percent out of adjustment.

The code of federal regulations allows brakes on such trucks to be no more than 20 percent out of adjustment, the lawsuit says.

"Silver State was negligent and careless in failing to keep the garbage truck in good maintenance and repair, to perform inspections or to set forth any guidelines to ensure that all vehicles for disposal services were in good ... repair," says the suit filed by Las Vegas attorney J. Mitchell Cobeaga.

The suit alleges that prior to the accident, it had been reported to Republic management that the truck had brake problems, yet the company "took no steps to repair or correct the inoperate brakes and ordered Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Jones to take this truck on their normal route," the suit says.

The suit describes Republic as showing "callous and reckless disregard for the risks of serious injury to decedent and his co-workers and the general public."

The suit alleges that Jones, whose job title was described in the suit as a garbage pitcher, "had no choice but to follow instruction of his supervisor or face loss of employment."

The 38,880-pound truck went out of control shortly before 7 a.m., flipped over a guard rail and rolled down the embankment, killing Jones and Mitchell, who were both ejected from the vehicle.

Attempts to reach a Republic spokesperson today were unsuccessful.

In the past, Lee Haney, spokeswoman for Silver State, has said her company could not comment on the case because of the pending civil litigation.