TRASH SMASHUP
Sanit Dept. sweeper, private hauler collide in B’klyn
Who’s going to clean this up?
A private trash hauler blew through a red light and struck a city street sweeper as it made a U-turn at a Brooklyn intersection early Wednesday, then crushed at least three parked cars as it veered to the left and landed on its side, officials said.
Video and pictures obtained by the Daily News show the 3 a.m. crash at the corner of Nostrand and Flushing Aves. in Williamsburg.
A Sanitation Department spokesman said the street sweeper was going through the intersection “when a private sanitation truck went through a red light and hit the [sweeper].”
The private truck then “flipped over and struck some parked cars,” the spokesman said.
At least two people — the drivers — were taken to Woodhull Medical Center with minor injuries.
Police were investigating Wednesday. It was not disclosed if anyone was arrested or given summonses.
A second source said the probe into whether the carting truck ran the light was “inconclusive.”
The private truck is owned by Viking Sanitation Services.
“Viking Sanitation is committed to the safety of its employees and the general public,” said Kendall Christiansen, executive director of New Yorkers for Responsible Waste Management, of which Viking is a member. “While we await the NYPD’s full investigation into the circumstances of this crash, we are relieved that, fortunately, no one was seriously injured.”
In June 2018, a driver from Viking was arrested for drunk and reckless driving charges after he wrecked nine parked cars as he plowed down a street in Borough Park, Brooklyn. At the time, the driver, Anthony Castaldo, apologized for the crash, claiming he had fallen asleep behind the wheel.
The City Council is poised to vote on a bill scrapping the commercial-waste pickup plan for a “zone plan,” in which one private carter will handle all commercial waste in a neighborhood.
While residential refuse pickup is handled by the city Sanitation Department, waste from stores and businesses is picked up by private haulers, who have contracts with individual businesses across the five boroughs.