Garbage Truck Dragged Man For A Half Block, $15M Lawsuit Claims

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN -- The city faces a $15 million lawsuit after a garbage truck driver rammed into a man in a Brooklyn crosswalk, dragged his body for a half block, then turned the truck around to appear as though it had not been going the wrong way down a one-way street, according to the victim's family's attorney.

Attorney Brett M. Schatz filed a wrongful death suit against New York City, the Sanitation Department and garbage truck driver Aaron Gilchrist in Brooklyn Criminal Court Tuesday morning, five months after Alberto Leal Dolores lost his life in a Crown Heights intersection.

"Something needs to be done now to ensure the public is safe," Schatz said at a press conference. "No one who is walking to work should have to worry they're going to be hit by a sanitation truck."

Dolores, 37, died the morning of Oct. 11, when Gilchrist, 33, made an illegal right turn off Eastern Parkway onto Brooklyn Avenue and slammed into the Dolores in the crosswalk, according to police.

Gilchrist now faces criminal charges for failing to yield, but Schatz alleges he also dragged Dolores' body toward Lincoln Avenue and turned his garbage truck around to avoid suspicion, Schatz said.

"We believe Mr. Dolores was alive, he was conscious, and we do know though our sources that he was dragged," Schatz said. "[Gilchrist] knew he was going down a one way street and he did it anyway to save time."

Gilchrist faces a maximum penalty of up to $500 in fines and a 30-day jail sentence, officials said, but the attorney called on the city to fire the driver immediately.

"It is outrageous that Mr. Gilchrist continue to be employed by the Department of Sanitation," he said. "Mr. Gilchrist should be in jail."

Gilchrist was suspended for 30 days, the maximum allowed by law, and has been stripped of driving responsibilities, according to a Sanitation Department spokesperson.

"DSNY will be taking additional disciplinary action against the driver through the administrative process and will be seeking termination," the spokesperson stated.

“This was a tragic incident," stated a Law Department spokesman. "We will review the lawsuit."

Friends of Dolores' family who appeared at the press conference Tuesday described him as a man who worked hard as a 99-cent store clerk to send money home to his wife Florina Flores Peralta, 37, sons Alexis Leal Peralta and Fidel Leal Peralta, in Acapulco, Mexico.

"He was the only hope they had," Irma Perez, Dolores' children's godmother, said through a translator. "They are very said. They don't have any emotional or financial support."

"It's very sad," Dionicio Santos Perrera said in Spanish. "I feel great emotion that I can no longer enjoy his company."