Woman Dies After Complaint at City Hall

A West Covina woman suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after protesting a new trash disposal system at a City Council meeting Tuesday night.

Marguerite Petty, 69, died in the emergency room at nearby Queen of the Valley Hospital about 9 p.m., authorities said.

About an hour earlier, Petty had spoken out against the city’s 2-week-old automated trash collection system during a public hearing. She collapsed shortly after returning to her seat in the council chambers. Mayor Nancy Manners immediately stopped the meeting and asked for help to revive the woman.

“At first it looked like she had just fainted,” Manners said. “We had no idea she had had an attack.”

Several audience members, including West Covina Fire Chief Richard Greene and reserve Police Officer Ric Estrada, responded. Both men tried to revive Petty by using cardiopulmonary resuscitation before paramedics arrived. The two were able to revive her momentarily, but she slipped back into unconsciousness, Estrada said.

The council meeting was reconvened in a room on the City Hall’s third floor while paramedics administered to Petty, Manners said.

Manners said several of Petty’s friends told her that Petty--a West Covina resident since 1954--had a history of medical problems and had suffered three heart attacks in the last three years.

Petty spoke for about three minutes and accused the council of “ramming” the new disposal system down the citizens’ throats, Manners said.

The new system, operated by Athens Disposal Co., which recently bought West Covina Disposal, automatically separates residents’ recyclable garbage, Manners said. Monthly trash-collection rates increased very modestly, from $9.95 to $10 for small, 60-gallon trash cans. In addition, customers are now being charged $12.78 a month for 90-gallon containers.