Risky maneuver by City of London garbage truck driver raises serious safety concerns

An early morning collision in south London is raising questions about the actions of a garbage truck driver who accelerated in reverse — slamming into Rebekkah Wilkin’s car.

The entire incident was caught on her dashcam.

At about 8 a.m. Thursday, Wilkin stopped her car about a house width behind the garbage truck.

A city worker loading the truck walks off camera and moments later, the driver accelerates backwards, plowing into the front of Wilkin’s car.

The dashcam captures her screams in the moments before the collision.

“He started accelerating at a high speed and didn't stop until he crashed into my vehicle,” Wilkin told CTV News. “He's driving a massive garbage truck and backing up at a high rate of speed and seemingly not looking at anything. It's really concerning!”

Wilkin can be heard crying as the city worker continues loading trash into the back of the truck, even operating the compactor before checking to see if she is hurt.

“The fact that they didn't even seem to notice anything happened, and they were so calm and relaxed about the whole thing – it was so frustrating!” she explained.

However, her concern about what happened extends well beyond an insurance claim.

“There are kids that play hockey in the street. There are kids that walk to school on that road every day,” she said. “If it would have been a child, they wouldn't have stood a chance!”

Although the city workers told her they contacted London police, Wilkin claims there was no record when she filed a report and provided a copy of her dashcam footage.

In a statement, the City of London told CTV News it will cooperate with any investigation.

“We take this incident very seriously. We hold all employees to a high level of accountability in their service to this community,” it added.

The city isn’t explaining why the driver reversed so suddenly and failed to see Wilkin’s car.

“They asked me if I was okay,” Wilkin recalled. “I was not okay mentally, [but] physically, I didn't know. And I'm not going to say I'm okay until a doctor checks me out.”

Wilkin said her insurance company is handling interactions with city hall and the extent of the damage to her car is still being evaluated.

London police have yet to provide information about the collision.