Supervisor Argues His Case in Fatal Trash Truck Accident

Dave Wear--the city of Los Angeles maintenance supervisor whom officials want to fire because of last month’s fatal accident involving a trash truck--said Tuesday that “flaws in the system” made it easy for him to “make a mistake.”

Wear argued his case Tuesday before two General Services Department officials--personnel officer Gary Stout and assistant personnel officer Vince Campbell.

Wear, 55, has acknowledged that he failed to place truck No. 70 on the hold list to keep it off the street, even though a driver had flagged it for repairs on Dec. 5. The next morning, a hydraulic ram burst through the side of the truck and sliced into a school bus, killing 8-year-olds Brian Serrano and Francisco Mata.

Wear said Tuesday that he should have been told about other trucks that had similar problems, and argued that other supervisors have made similar mistakes without repercussions.