A 32-year-old sanitation worker died after falling from the back of a garbage truck on his first day at work.
John Derrick Dover was working for the Cherokee County Solid Waste Department in South Carolina when the incident happened on August 17, 2026.
Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said Dover was one of two workers riding on the truck’s rear platform as the crew emptied waste containers.
At about 1:50 p.m., the truck turned from Bonner Road onto Hayes Road. Dover fell from the platform and landed on the road.
Emergency workers transported him to Spartanburg Medical Center. Doctors pronounced him dead at 3:26 p.m.
The truck was being driven by Dover’s father at the time.
“This is a most tragic incident as it was Dover’s first day on the job,” Fowler said. “What’s even worse, the truck was being driven by his father. Our hearts and prayers are with this family.”
Cherokee County officials also expressed their condolences to Dover’s family, friends and coworkers.
Authorities have not revealed what caused him to fall. An autopsy was ordered to assist the coroner’s investigation.
Dover lived in Gaffney and had only recently joined the county’s sanitation department.
