Lang
4/25/25
The owner and three employees of a Quad Cities-based waste management company have been charged with felonies after an employee was killed at its Iowa City location.
That’s according to a Friday news release from the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, which is making the claims against Hawkeye Waste Systems of Scott County. Records show the company’s 82-year-old owner, James Watts, as well as 30-year-old Chris Watts, 59-year-old Mary Sheen, and 43-year-old Chris Dohrer, are each charged with Failure to Maintain Worker’s Compensation Insurance after another employee died from a workplace accident at the company’s Commerce Drive location. 61-year-old Matthew Reuwsaat died on November 9th of last year when he was crushed by a skid loader. An investigation by the Iowa Division of Worker’s Compensation revealed that Hawkeye Waste Systems did not have worker’s compensation insurance, as required by Iowa Code.
Arraignment is scheduled for May 19th at 1:30pm for all four defendants. If convicted, they each face a maximum of five years in prison.