Killed on his route: Longtime Charlotte trash collector, ‘Superstar’ dies after crash
Robert Taylor, a 55-year-old Charlotte sanitation worker, died after he was injured in a car crash around noon on Monday. Authorities said Taylor was working on his collection route when was fatally hit.
His wife, Tammy Taylor, described him as a diligent provider who never missed the chance to work extra days and helped raised her three children as well as his own daughter and several grandchildren.
“He loved that job,” she said. “He would not call out, wouldn’t miss a day.”
On the day he died, Taylor and another garbage collector were both emptying trash into the back of the disposal truck on Albemarle Road, between Harrisburg Road and Wilgrove Mint Hill Road, in east Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Both sanitation employees were wearing reflective clothing and had the required hazard lights activated, police officials said in a statement Tuesday. The driver, Eugene Banks, has been charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, according to CMPD.
Colleagues of Taylor described him as devoted to his job as a sanitation worker and garbage truck driver with a “superstar” work ethic. James Barber Jr., a safety team leader at the Charlotte Solid Waste Services, said that Taylor was the first person he met when he started at the department in 2007.
“He showed me the map on how to be a professional and how to go about my business. Go to work every day. Do your job. Do it right,” he said.
Together the two of them worked on the same truck five days a week for four years where they developed a tight friendship, he said.
‘We’re pretty much like family’
Taylor’s wife said that he had worked as a garbage collector for the City of Charlotte for over 20 years and moved to the city from Rock Hill, S.C. around 1995.
Frank Houser, a labor crew chief at Charlotte Sanitation Services, said that Taylor came into work every day on time and never complained about a new assignment.
“He wasn’t a real big talker but he always had a smile on his face,” he said.
Houser and Barber said that they were family friends to Taylor as well as colleagues.
Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Barber said he was not able to see Taylor often but every time they did meet they would hug and smile and tell jokes.
Taylor loved rhythm and blues music and sports. Tammy Taylor said the house they lived in had cable and five television sets but Robert only ever played one channel: ESPN.
His wife described Taylor — or as he was sometimes called “Nine” — as the “life of the party” and said he always spoke his mind. On Monday, Tammy said that while family members were at their home, it started raining and thundering.
They took the weather as a sign of him — speaking his mind once again about the number of people in his home.
“I can’t believe this happened to him and I can’t believe he’s gone,” she said.
“It’s been heartbreaking for everybody here,” Houser said. “We’re pretty much like a family.”
Police say they’re investigating why the driver did not slow down or stop before hitting Taylor. CMPD officials say they don’t believe Banks was impaired nor was he speeding.
His cell phone has been seized to examine whether it was being used before the crash, police said.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 9:10 AM.
