Man injured by garbage disposal truck in Porterville, lawsuit could be filed
Martinez was released from the hospital and Shamsi submitted a claim with the city about the crash, which he hopes is accepted.
PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- On October 24, 41-year-old Enrique Martinez was about to cross A street in Porterville when he was struck by a city garbage disposal truck.
"When I came out, I saw the guy laying on the ground," says Beck's Foreign Car Service Co-Owner Brian Sanborn. "He asked me what happened, he said that he couldn't breathe and then he asked what happened."
Martinez was initially taken to Sierra View Medical Center, before getting transferred to Kaweah Health and CRMC in Fresno.
His attorney, Sean Shamsi says he was intubated for half that time and underwent multiple surgeries.
Now, Martinez is facing a long road to recovery.
"Thank god my client is alive, he has undergone several injuries and has major damages," Shamsi said. "A broken humuros, broken scapula, broken ribs in the back and collapsed lung."
Pictures from witnesses show the city truck on its side after the crash -- tire marks on the sidewalk, a bent fence and broken cement are also spotted on the scene.
"I looked over and I could see the garbage truck tilted up a bit," Sanborn said. "It hit the corner, hit the pole, hit our fence."
Monday morning, Martinez was released from the hospital and Shamsi submitted a claim with the city about the crash, which he hopes is accepted.
"To make sure he gets all the medical attention he needs and that the city takes responsibility for what they did," Shamsi said. "We don't think it was intentional, we think it's an accident and accidents happen."
Shamsi says if the city doesn't accept the claim, they can file a lawsuit.
We reached out to the city and police department for comment and are waiting to hear back.
