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6h ago

Baltimore Prosecutor: DPW Missteps Tainted Trash-Truck Death Probe, No Charges Filed

Allowing the driver to leave before police arrived led to a seven-hour, outdated alcohol test that left prosecutors without reliable evidence.

Baltimore City police crash team investigators work in an alley on the 1800 block of Baker Street, where a DPW worker was killed yesterday in an accident. (Baltimore Sun Staff)
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Overview

  • State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates released the Oct. 1 review following an intensive inquiry with the BPD Accident Investigation Unit.
  • A DPW supervisor told the truck driver he could leave before officers reached the scene, disrupting immediate investigative steps.
  • The driver’s breath test was administered nearly seven hours after the crash on outdated equipment, well beyond the two-hour standard for admissible BAC testing.
  • The review cites DPW Solid Waste training lapses that violated policy and failed to instruct employees on safe trash-collection procedures.
  • Timothy Cartwell, 46, died after being pinned between a garbage truck and a light pole in a Sandtown-Winchester alley, and prosecutors say the compromised evidence prevented any manslaughter determination.