City garbage truck driver fired after drugs found in his system

Adrian Robinson said in letter that medication may have caused false positive

SAN ANTONIO – A city of San Antonio solid waste driver was fired this year after testing positive during a random drug test, according to personnel records released to the KSAT 12 Defenders.

Adrian Robinson, a side load equipment operator who had worked for the city since 2007, was placed on administrative leave on April 10, five days after he failed the drug screening, according to the records.

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City officials did not disclose results of the screening or what illegal substance Robinson tested positive for, citing state laws protecting certain medical records of employees.

Robinson, however, in a letter proclaiming his innocence, included several articles describing how other people have falsely tested positive for cocaine.

The city gave Robinson a notice of final termination on May 8.

Solid Waste Management Department officials declined to make director David McCary available for an interview for this story.

City officials have also refused to answer if they determined how long Robinson may have driven a commercial city vehicle with drugs in his system.

San Antonio Government and Public Affairs director Jeff Coyle instead said via email that Robinson had passed 13 random drug/alcohol tests over the course of his career before the positive test.

Coyle released the following statement last week:

The City conducts both post-accident and random drug and alcohol testing for CDL drivers, in compliance with Department of Transportation (DOT)  rules and requirements.  Mr. Robinson was immediately removed from driving on April 10th when the City was made aware that he had failed his DOT-required drug test.  Since that time, in accordance with the City’s zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy, Mr. Robinson has been terminated.”

Robinson's personnel records show that he was previously suspended in 2013 after being involved in two preventable accidents with a 24-month period.

Records show Robinson was also involved in preventable accidents in 2009 and 2014 and was suspended in 2015 after a second infraction for using a cell phone while driving a city vehicle.


About the Author:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.