A solid waste laborer died while working a sanitation route in Northeast Baltimore’s Barclay neighborhood on Friday, according to an official statement from the city.
“Our hearts are first and foremost with him, his family and loved ones, and his DPW colleagues as we grapple with this loss,” Mayor Brandon Scott and Acting DPW Director Khalil Zaied wrote in a joint statement to WYPR.
According to officials, sometime during the late afternoon Ronald Silver II began to experience a “medical situation” that required “immediate assistance” while he and his coworkers were riding in their truck. Emergency medical services were called, dispatched, and Silver was taken to the hospital where he then died.
Witnesses on the scene provide a different account.
Gabrielle Avendano, 27, was at home on the 2000 block of Guilford Avenue when Silver knocked on her door, shortly after 4 o’clock. Immediately, Avendano observed erratic behavior and had to assess whether she felt safe enough to administer help while she was home alone with her two year old son. When Silver fell back onto the pavement in front of her home, she immediately sprang into action and called 911.
Baltimore City’s Health Department issued a Code-Red heat alert Friday as “real feel” temperatures swelled upwards of 105 degrees.
At first Silver was coherent enough to ask for water, which Avendano gave him to drink and then poured on him in an attempt to alleviate his symptoms. A few minutes later, Silver passed out.
“I proceeded to lift him up, set him on the stairs, where his head tilted backwards and he stopped breathing,” recalled Avendano, who was instructed to begin chest compressions until emergency services arrived.
Silver was given oxygen and additional CPR by members of the Baltimore Fire Department who Avendano says then took Silver to Union Memorial Hospital. Avendano said she was never interviewed by emergency responders nor was any official report taken.
“I don’t have anyone to reach out to. I wanted to check on him last night to see if he was ok,” said Avendano.
Throughout the ordeal, Avendano and her neighbor, Michael Cox, 45, observed Silver’s coworker in the truck on his phone. They claim to have learned afterwards the coworker was talking to a DPW supervisor and not emergency services, like they assumed. When she first called 911, Avendano says she actually hung up the phone because she believed the matter was being addressed. Eventually, the vehicle driver joined them on the sidewalk as the duo were actively administering care.
“I guess the driver had done the last round of trash pickup for Ronald, because Ronald couldn't do it. The driver said that he thought he was just being lazy and didn't want to work,” said Avendano. Cox confirmed hearing the driver say the same thing.
According to Avendano and Cox, the driver said Silver had been complaining of leg and chest pain throughout the entire day. The truck stopped on Guilford Avenue because the duo had finished the route and reportedly that is where Silver had parked his car.
“I'm shocked and so sad that he died because I think it could have been prevented if they had just called 911 sooner in the day. He had been complaining for most of the day about the pain that he was in, and nobody called for help except for me,” said Avendano.
DPW offered no additional details when asked about the claims made by Avendano and Cox. "We stand by our statement," wrote DPW Spokesperson Mary Stewart in an email.
Ronald Mitchener, Chief of Routine Services for DPW, confirmed that Silver worked out of the Cherry Hill sanitation yard at 701 Reedbird Avenue.
That yard in particular has come under fire in a series of damning reports released by the Baltimore Office of the Inspector General earlier this summer. Those reports detailed that workers at the sanitation yards had inadequate access to water and air conditioning, among other issues. While Cherry Hill had some of the most egregious issues, further investigation by the OIG revealed the problems to be widespread at other DPW facilities too.
“Without adequate and safe working conditions, the City is not only potentially violating OSHA regulations, but DPW workers’ health and safety are currently at risk. The OIG requests for swift and immediate action to be taken to prevent further risk and explore alternatives, including a possible alternate work site,” wrote Inspector General Isabel Cumming in one report.
Mayor Brandon Scott responded to the report’s findings by saying his administration has been proactive in getting water and Gatorade to workers while also acknowledging that the sanitation yards, particularly in Cherry Hill, have suffered from decades of neglect under previous administrations.
“We set aside $20 million that's going to go to our solid waste facilities and the majority of these facilities that you see in this report are going to have complete renovations and transformations over the next three or plus years. That’s really our focus right now,” said Richard Luna, Deputy Director for the Department of Public Works in an interview with WYPR last month. Luna said the department has been working to address the minor and immediate issues raised in the OIG’s reports, like access to water and installing fans.
The city asked for privacy for Silver’s family while there is currently an investigation with the crew and medical professionals to “understand the details of what occurred.” The city said that counseling and resources are being offered to the affected staff members.
Few details were available as of Saturday morning, but representatives from AFSCME Maryland Council 3, the union representing most DPW laborers, confirmed that Silver was a member.
“As we gather more information on the circumstances of the loss of our union brother, we mourn his loss,” wrote representatives of AFSCME 3 in a statement to WYPR. The union went on to write that “whatever steps that have previously been made to keep our members safe isn’t working. Management needs to be taking the Health and Safety of our membership far more seriously.”
In a story posted to the social media platform Instagram, Stancil McNair, who also works as a DPW sanitation laborer, broke the news of his colleague’s death.
“It’s so important that people pay attention to us, we go through a lot,” says McNair in the video. “We always get overlooked because we do trash. So we get treated like what we do.”
There is currently no federal heat standard set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers laboring in high heat situations, although the Biden administration sent in a proposal last month.
Maryland is in the process of finalizing its own heat standard, making it the first state on the East Coast to do so. Those standards will likely not go into effect for months to come.
In Baltimore, Avendano is still coming to grips with what she experienced on Friday afternoon. She urges her fellow city residents to call emergency services as soon as possible if they see someone who expresses any kind of distress.
“Even if it’s nothing, just call in case… and ask for a record or citation number.”