We're Not Just Garbagemen: The Lifesaving Actions of Two SWS Employees

Brandon Martin, Senior Sanitation Equipment Operator, and Kenneth Wiley, Sweeper.

By Maranda Whittington

Brandon Martin and Kenneth Wiley, two Solid Waste Services employees, first met as neighbors. 

“Me and his mom [grew] up together,” said Kenneth Wiley. “Me and his mom went to school together. We stayed directly across the street from each other.”  

Neither of them could have imagined that their paths would cross again, decades later, while working together for the City of Charlotte. Yet, earlier this year, they were reunited when it mattered most—just in time to save someone’s life. 

“They pulled me out from sweeping to help out in yard waste, and it just so happened I got on the truck with him,” said Wiley.  

 A little over one month ago, Wiley and Martin hopped in their truck and headed out to begin picking up trash along their route. Wiley was driving and turned onto Portland Avenue when he noticed something. 

“I was watching this guy, he was down at the bottom of his driveway right by his trashcan,” he said. “I looked again and seen the man laying in his driveway.” 

Wiley then put the brakes on the truck and sprung into action. Martin soon realized the truck wasn’t moving.  He looked up to see a crowd of neighbors surrounding the man.  

“Nobody knew what to do,” said Martin. “It was like six or seven people, and everybody literally came out and said 'What do we do, what do we do? I don’t know what to do!’”  

What neighbors didn’t know was that Martin had spent seven years serving in the Army where he had taken combat lifesaver courses. He jumped into action, asking Wiley questions and assessing the situation.

“I felt [the man’s] pulse, and I started checking for broken bones, but then I realized that his face was blue," Martin explained. So, I automatically stopped feeling for broken bones and asked him [Wiley] to help me flip him over.” 

Martin and Wiley worked with neighbors to get a pillow to elevate the man’s legs. 

“I just kind of postured his body to open up his airways completely because he had a pulse,” Martin said. “After I rolled him over, he started taking breathes every 15 to 20 seconds.”  

Martin said once he was able to get the man's airways open, he noticed the resident's complexion returning to normal. 

“He still was unconscious and unresponsive, but he started breathing,” he explained.  

Charlotte Fire eventually arrived on the scene and took over, thanking both men for what they had done. After checking in with neighbors to make sure everything was okay, Martin and Wiley hopped back in their truck to finish their route.  

“While we were navigating through the route, because it was still in the same area it was just different streets, the neighbors walking dogs and a few of them came up to the truck while I was on the back with the tech and actually thanked us for helping the guy,” said Martin. 

With the incident still on their minds, Wiley decided to go back to the man’s house after his shift.  

“I went back to the house to check on him, and he was at the hospital,” he said. “I left my name and my number just to let him know I came back.”  

A few days later, Wiley was at home when he got an unexpected phone call.  

“He called me to thank me and wanted us to come by so he could see us,” he said. “He said he’s been a lawyer for years, and he had plenty of words in court for plenty of people, but he just doesn’t have any words for what we did. He just wanted to thank us.” 

Wiley talked to Martin, and they ended up going back to his house to meet him.  

“I was like man I just want to give you a hug, is it okay if I give you a hug?” said Wiley. “I gave him a hug.” Both men said it was at that moment that it finally registered what they had done.  

“It’s just the right thing to do,” said Wiley. “It was just the right thing to do.”

Charlotte Fire Captain Lucas Marks sent an email to Solid Waste Services in the following days, detailing how their actions saved that man’s life. The man they saved had suffered a minor heart attack. Marks said the outcome could have been very different if Wiley and Martin hadn't been there. This wasn't the only praise they received. One of the neighbors also called into CharMeck 311 praising both men for what they had done. 

From neighbors, to coworkers, to lifesavers, Wiley and Martin’s connection to each other has been tied together in more ways than one.  

“It’s just overwhelming that it happened like it happened and it went like it went,” said Wiley. “That’s the best part about it is that it went like it went.” 

They hope their story is a reminder of just how impactful Solid Waste Services and its employees are to the City of Charlotte.  

“It’s way deeper than garbage,” said Martin. “We do a lot for the city that’s not even in our job description on a daily basis. We aren’t just garbagemen, we are good Samaritans.”

Want to learn even more of their heroic story? Check out the full interview with Martin & Wiley below: