Before Ronald Silver II died of heat stroke while collecting trash for Baltimore City on August 2nd, there were already warning signs that the day could turn deadly, according to one coworker.

Travis Christian, one of Silver’s coworkers on that fatal day, shared details of that day and how he, himself, experienced heat sickness that has left him with lasting complications. Silver collapsed late that afternoon and died, the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Silver’s death as hyperthermia, or heat sickness. That day Baltimore City was on a Code Red heat alert for real-feel temperatures that exceed 105 degrees.

Christian spoke during a press conference hosted by his attorney, Thiru Vignarajah. While no litigation has been formally announced, Vignarajah, a two-time mayoral candidate, did guide Christian’s responses.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Christian reported to the Reedbird Sanitation Yard for his shift.

“It was already about 80 plus degrees that early in the morning, it was a scorcher,” he said.

As the day went on, both Christian and Silver began to feel sick, including symptoms of nausea and knots in their legs, which according to the Cleveland Clinic, are symptoms of heat sickness.

Then, a few hours before the route was completed, Christian said he collapsed.

“When I passed out and hit the ground, I fell and hit the back of my head. Mr. Silver kind of shook me and woke me up off the ground. And when I asked him what happened, he said I collapsed,” said Christian.

Christian believes that about one-hour later, Silver collapsed for the first time. Christian was on the opposite side of the truck at the time, so all he heard at first was his coworker screaming.

Silver was face-down with scrapes along his hands and arms, Christian remembered.

When I turned [Silver] over, his eyes were rolling in the back of his head. He was rolling in and out of consciousness back and forth,” Christian recounted. “He was screaming,’Pick me up!’”

After multiple attempts and with the little strength he had left, feeling the effects of heat exhaustion himself, Christian was able to pull Silver back into the truck.

“Lord willing, God strengthened me to get him inside the truck safe and sound at that point,” said Christian.

Silver begged Christian to massage the knots out of his legs but Christian was too sick himself to help.

Silver and Christian worked as part of a three-man collection crew; there was a driver there too who at one point Christian referred to as “King”, although the name of that driver has not yet been publicly released.

Christian said that after he dragged Silver into the truck, he told the driver that he felt like he was ready to die. Shortly after, Christian walked away from the truck and made his way home by foot.

“ I felt my lights turning off inside my body… I was so delirious and out of it that I was just, I don't know how I even made it home. All I can thank is God at that point, God over everything,” he said.

The driver told Christian that he would drive Silver back to his car, parked in Baltimore’s Barclay neighborhood. It was there that Silver would collapse and eventually die after a neighbor tried to render aid.

Christian said that at no point did the driver ever attempt to render aid to the ailing men. Both Silver and Christian believed they would face retaliation if they complained, based on their previous experiences.

A third-party audit from the law firm Conn Maciel and Carey, conducted at the behest of the city and released last month, confirmed that fears of retaliation were widespread among DPW laborers who complained about their conditions.

On the day Silver died, Christian said the driver was telling them to, “Hurry the (expletive) up and get the (expletive) trash so we can hurry and get the (expletive) out of here.”

Meanwhile, Christian continues to feel the physical effects of that day. Vignarajah shared that Christian has been examined multiple times by medical professionals. Weeks after August 2nd, Christian was still presenting with headaches, nausea, and cramping. Doctors declared him unable to work. Eventually he was sent to physical therapy to aid in his recovery and talk therapy to aid with his trauma– in October, doctors cleared him to begin some light work but not the physical labor required of a trash collector.

Christian did not have health insurance when he became sick on the job in August, said Vignarajah, his attorney.

“I want to share with you that Mr. Christian is in exceptional shape; he was, until this day, a professional fighter with a near undefeated record,” said Vignarajah. Silver too, did not have any known underlying health conditions.

Silver’s death is under investigation by the Department of Public Works, the Baltimore City Police Department, the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health administration, and the Baltimore City Office of the Inspector General.

In a statement to WYPR, spokesperson Mary Stewart wrote that DPW is "committed to supporting the ongoing investigation, and as such, we are unable to provide any further information that could potentially jeopardize or interfere with the investigative process. This includes any details shared during today’s press conference. Our priority is to fully cooperate with all inquiries while respecting the investigative process."

Vignarajah does not think things are moving fast enough and that the family deserves answers.

“This is not a 50 person gang that needs to be investigated for three years of drug dealing. This happened on one particular day, and what happened that day? I've got to believe the authorities know what we know, and then some and we'll continue to share,” said the attorney.

Fatality investigations like Silver's are prioritized, said Department of Labor communications director Dinah Winnick in a statement to WYPR. Winnick said citations are due within six months of the incident— which would be early February in the Silver case.