John Derrick Dover, 32, fell from the rear platform of a Cherokee County garbage truck while crews were collecting trash.
GAFFNEY, S.C. — A 32-year-old sanitation worker died after falling from the rear of a garbage truck during his first day working for Cherokee County, authorities said, in an accident made more painful by the fact that his father was driving the truck.
John Derrick Dover of Gaffney was working with a county garbage collection crew shortly before 2 p.m. Aug. 17 when the accident occurred, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler. Dover was one of two workers riding on the rear platform as crews collected roll-out trash carts. The truck was turning off Bonner Road onto Hayes Road when Dover fell onto the pavement.
Emergency personnel took Dover by ambulance to Spartanburg Medical Center. The coroner’s office said he died there at 3:26 p.m. Fowler said it was Dover’s first day on the job and that his father was behind the wheel of the sanitation truck at the time. Authorities have not publicly reported that the father was suspected of wrongdoing.
Fowler described the circumstances as especially difficult for Dover’s family and said an autopsy would be conducted as part of the investigation into his death. The coroner’s office had not publicly released a final autopsy finding in the latest reports reviewed Sunday. No official determination beyond the reported fall had been announced about the precise medical cause of death.
Cherokee County officials said Dover was a new employee in the county Solid Waste Department. In a statement released after the accident, the county said officials were gathering information and wanted to make sure any details released about the incident were accurate. County leaders also expressed condolences to Dover’s family, friends and coworkers.
The accident happened while the sanitation crew was carrying out routine garbage collection in Cherokee County. Officials said Dover and another worker had been positioned on the rear platform as roll-out carts were emptied. The available public reports do not specify Dover’s speed of travel at the time of the fall, whether any equipment malfunctioned or whether investigators identified any other factor that contributed to the accident.
Fowler’s account places the fall at about 1:50 p.m., when the garbage truck was making the turn from Bonner Road onto Hayes Road. Dover was then transported to the hospital, where he died about an hour and a half later. Authorities have not reported that another worker aboard the truck was injured.
Dover’s obituary says he was employed by the Cherokee County Sanitation Department and was a resident of Gaffney. It also lists his father among his surviving relatives. Funeral arrangements published by Gordon Mortuary call for visitation and a funeral service in Blacksburg on Aug. 24.
As of Sunday, the coroner’s investigation remained the latest publicly reported official review of the death. Cherokee County had said it would provide additional information once facts were confirmed, but no later public announcement reviewed Sunday identified a mechanical cause, workplace violation or criminal allegation connected to the accident.
Author note: Last updated August 23, 2026.