Lawsuit targets Recology, not city, over deadly 12th and Yesler bike collision

Salyer

A tragic death at 12th and Yesler is headed to the courts.

The family of Christian Salyer, the 30-year-old Thurgood Marshall Elementary teacher who died after being struck while riding his bicycle at 12th and Yesler, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in King County Superior Court against waste contractor Recology and the employee operating the collection truck.

The City of Seattle is not named in the suit despite criticism that officials had scrapped safety improvements in the area where the deadly crash took place.

The legal action stems from the fatal collision on the afternoon of June 1st at the intersection of 12th Ave S and E Yesler Way. According to court documents filed by personal injury firm Panish, Shea, Ravipudi LLP on behalf of Salyer’s estate, parents, and sisters, Salyer was riding southbound in a designated bicycle lane when the Recology driver made an abrupt right turn across the cyclist’s path, striking Salyer and running over him and his bicycle.

Recology has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

The complaint asserts that video evidence shows that the driver didn’t use his turn signal, “failed to check his mirrors or surroundings, and failed to slow the vehicle before initiating the right turn.”

Beyond alleging operational negligence and traffic code violations, the suit makes claims against Recology for negligent hiring, training, retention, and supervision.

“Recology knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that operating a large commercial refuse vehicle creates substantial and foreseeable risks to bicyclists, including when a driver turns across a designated bicycle lane,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit directs its claims at the private waste collection contractor and its employee and does not name the city and the Seattle Department of Transportation as defendants. Fatal bicycle collisions at high-density intersections often lead to liability claims alleging deficient street design, inadequate signal phasing, or visual obstructions. In 2016, the city agreed to a $3.5 million settlement following the 2014 death of cyclist Sher Kung, who was killed by a commercial vehicle turning across an unprotected bike lane on 2nd Ave.

The city has also made more than $6.25 million in combined settlements over cyclist crashes in the past decade along the First Hill Streetcar route that passes through the 12th and Yesler area. The case over Desiree McCloud’s death in 2016 that occurred after a crash on the tracks near 13th and Yesler are included in that total.

When video or physical evidence indicates commercial driver failure, wrongful death actions have bypassed municipal road design claims to pursue corporate carriers and fleet operators directly. The Salyer lawsuit places the blame on Recology.

Across the West Coast, commercial garbage and recycling operators including San Francisco-based Recology have faced scrutiny and wrongful death litigation concerning side-impact visibility, blind spots, and vehicle fleet safety when maneuvering heavy equipment through bicycling corridors.

Similar lawsuits include multi-million-dollar settlements in the Bay Area over fatal right-hook collisions involving cyclists and collection trucks, as well as a $38.8 million Nevada jury verdict against Republic Services after a truck struck a young pedestrian in a crosswalk.

In Seattle, an example is the 2011 wrongful death settlement reached on behalf of cyclist Kevin Black, who was killed by a driver making a right turn in a commercial truck in Ballard, as claims centered strictly on the driver’s failure to yield the right-of-way and the commercial operator’s duty to manage turning blind spots.

At 12th and Yesler, meanwhile, the city is taking action.

The intersection has long been identified by transportation advocates as one of Seattle’s most complex transit junctions, characterized by First Hill Streetcar tracks, converging multi-lane arterials, driveway cutouts, and a mix of painted lanes and concrete barriers. Following Salyer’s death, cyclists placed a white ghost bike at the corner during a memorial gathering.

In August, Mayor Katie Wilson remembered Salyer while signing an executive order aimed at accelerating the city’s Vision Zero initiative, directing transportation officials to speed up safety updates on high-collision corridors, including improvements along 12th Ave.

“Seattle should be a city where families can feel safe getting where they need to go — whether they’re walking their kids to school, biking to the park, or taking transit,” Wilson said. “We’ve made important progress, but every serious injury or death on our streets is one too many. We know what makes our streets safer.”

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