Family calls for transparency after heatstroke death of Baltimore trash collector

BALTIMORE (AP) — The family of a Baltimore man who died of heatstroke while collecting trash for the city’s public works agency is demanding increased transparency from local officials following his death.

The relatives held a news conference Monday and called on the Baltimore City Council to conduct a series of investigative hearings and shed light on how the otherwise healthy Ronald Silver II succumbed to heat-related illness at work.

“Ronnie Silver’s death is an absolutely preventable tragedy. It should never have happened,” said Thiru Vignarajah, an attorney representing the family. “And it was only because of a failure to respect the basic dignity and humanity of a trashman that this family had to hold funeral services for Ronnie Silver II on Friday.”

A copy of Silver’s offer letter from the Baltimore Department of Public Works shows he started the job last fall and was making about $18 an hour. Vignarajah said the letter was a source of pride for Silver, who was working to help support his five children and fiancée.

Silver, 36, died Aug. 2 as temperatures in the Baltimore area climbed to about 100 degrees (38 Celsius) and city officials issued a Code Red heat advisory. Local media outlets reported that Silver rang the doorbell of a northeast Baltimore resident that afternoon asking for help. The person who answered the door called 911 on his behalf.

Department of Public Works officials have declined to answer questions about the events leading up to Silver’s death, including whether supervisors were notified about his condition earlier in the shift.

Critics say it was a tragic result of longstanding problems within the agency, including an abusive culture perpetuated by supervisors and a lack of concern for basic health and safety measures. Earlier this summer, the city’s inspector general released a report saying that some agency employees — including at the solid waste yard where Silver reported to work — didn’t have adequate access to water, ice, air conditioning and fans to help them complete their trash cleanup routes in intense summer heat.

In response to those findings, agency leaders promised to address the issue by properly maintaining ice machines, repairing broken air conditioners in their trash trucks, handing out Gatorade and giving employees an alternative to their traditional uniforms on hot days, among other changes.

The agency also announced last week that it would provide employees with mandatory heat safety training, including “recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat stroke and related illnesses.”

Vignarajah called those efforts “a day late and a dollar short.” He said the Silver family hopes their loss will be a catalyst for change and “the reason that this never happens again,” especially as record-shattering heat waves are becoming increasingly common worldwide.

“We will not let the world forget Ronald Silver II,” his aunt Renee Meredith said during the news conference. “Ronnie, we miss you and love you. And by the time we’re done, every worker will be safer because of the mark you have left.”