---
title: "Sleeping Garbage Truck Driver Smashes into 13 Parked Cars in Brooklyn, Not Ticketed by NYPD"
description: "Well, that seems like just about the worst wakeup call we can imagine."
date: "2017-08-24"
modified: "2017-08-24"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/13789/sleeping-garbage-truck-driver-smashes-into-13-parked-cars-in-brooklyn-not-ticketed-by-nypd"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Accident"
  - "Brooklyn"
  - "garbage truck"
  - "New York City"
  - "NYPD"
  - "parking"
---

# Sleeping Garbage Truck Driver Smashes into 13 Parked Cars in Brooklyn, Not Ticketed by NYPD

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/08/garbage-truck-accident.png>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

A man driving a private [garbage truck](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/10431/volvos-autonomous-garbage-truck-reports-for-duty>) in New York City fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into 13 parked cars early Monday morning, completely destroying some of the vehicles—and the whole thing was caught on tape. Yet [according to a *DNAInfo* report,](<https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170823/bed-stuy/nostrand-avenue-parked-cars-dump-truck-bus-lane-private-carting?utm_content=buffer4b203&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=DNAinfoNY>) the driver was neither arrested nor even ticketed by the New York Police Department.

The unidentified driver was reportedly traveling through the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn at around 6:00am on Monday when he fell asleep, causing the massive trash truck to veer off the right side of the road and smash into a long row of parked cars. Fortunately, no one was injured, which is pretty remarkable considering the path of devastation.

https://youtube.com/embed/EnxciIqW95Y

*Yeshiva World News* [obtained photos of the aftermath,](<https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/1343538/video-photos-garbage-truck-destroys-12-cars-williamsburg.html>) showing several cars smashed beyond recognition and more than a few with huge scrapes and dents along the side. All together, there has to be tens of thousands of dollars in damages between the 13 cars, making it all the more puzzling that the NYPD confirmed to *DNAInfo* that the driver hasn't even been ticketed, let alone arrested.

Then again, the NYPD is notorious for not fully investigating car accidents when there are no deaths, and for giving drivers the benefit of the doubt when determining fault. Private garbage trucks in particular [have been under scrutiny](<https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170731/greenpoint/private-carting-dsny-garbage-commercial-waste-vision-zero-dump-truck>) in the city lately, after a string of fatal accidents involving [cyclists](<https://www.thedrive.com/video/7331/bicycle-commuting-in-brooklyn-is-not-smart>) and pedestrians, yet it looks like in this case the driver will walk away scot-free. Those 13 unlucky car owners can't be happy about that.

https://twitter.com/_/status/900703758992199681

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)