Overview
- A passerby heard shouting and flagged down a Recology front-loading truck after it picked up a commercial dumpster, prompting a 4:11 a.m. dispatch to Mason and Eddy streets on Wednesday.
- More than 20 firefighters manually pulled the truck’s contents apart over roughly two hours to reach a person who was buried under debris and then extricated conscious and speaking.
- On-scene paramedics reached the trapped person’s arm through the trash and administered medication by IV before the victim was taken to a local trauma center, while one firefighter sustained a minor cut.
- Recology said the driver was the only employee on the front-loading truck, that the compactor had been used, and that the company called the incident unusual and under investigation.
- The case highlights the hazard posed by front-loading compactors that empty large commercial bins and may prompt reviews of collection procedures, driver training, and outreach to people who search dumpsters for food or goods.