This browser does not support the Video element.
Truck backs over man sleeping near dumpster
A civil lawsuit seeks ten million dollars after a twenty-three-year-old man was run over by a Carrollton garbage truck, according to a family attorney.
CARROLLTON, Ga. - A civil lawsuit seeks $10 million after a Carrollton garbage truck ran over and killed a man sleeping near a shopping center dumpster two years ago.
The family of William Earl Head, 23, is demanding accountability from the city and the property owners for what an attorney describes as a gruesome death.
Carrollton legal battle
What we know:
A lawsuit reveals Head died near a dumpster in a strip mall located less than a mile from the University of West Georgia. The fatal incident occurred at night in the 800 block of Maple Street, where a city garbage truck ran over Head and then backed up over him. The body was separated during the incident and remained undiscovered until morning, when business employees mistook it for a mannequin.
The legal action names the city of Carrollton and Carmac, the former owner of the shopping strip, as defendants. Attorney Mac Pilgrim, who represents the estate and is Head's cousin, argues liability falls on the city for employee behavior and on the owners for the dumpster's positioning and a lack of lighting. Pilgrim stated that Head was a young man who will not get the chance to grow and become who he was meant to be.
Unanswered crash details
What we don't know:
Investigators and family members still do not know exactly why Head was lying on the ground behind the businesses that night. Because Head did not survive, legal teams hope the discovery phase of the lawsuit will uncover more clues about the timeline.
A city spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations or the specific truck operations, stating that officials cannot discuss active litigation.
Case financial figures
By the numbers:
- 23: The age of victim William Earl Head when he was killed.
- 2: The number of years since the fatal garbage truck incident occurred.
- 800: The block of Maple Street where the strip mall is located.
- 10 million: The amount of money in dollars being sought by the family in the civil lawsuit.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a FOX 5 broadcast report by Kevin Stewart, who interviewed the estate's attorney, Mac Pilgrim, and received a statement from a city spokesperson.