Homeless man dumped into garbage truck was trapped for an hour. It's not the first time.
A homeless man was taken to the hospital early Wednesday morning, after he was dumped into a garbage truck and trapped for almost an hour.
He had been sleeping in a dumpster when he was picked up and dropped in along with the trash.
Escambia County Fire Rescue and EMS got a 9-1-1 call about the situation at 3:17 a.m. Escambia Public Information and Education Officer Davis Wood said the man had been sleeping in a dumpster at an apartment complex off West Michigan Avenue when the truck accidentally picked him up.
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"A neighbor witnessed it happen and called 911. We then alerted the garbage company," said Wood. "The garbage company then alerted the driver and the driver pulled over at the Circle K and was able to confirm that, 'Yes, there was someone inside."
The driver was unaware a person was in the truck until the collection company let him know. He had even made a couple more stops and compacted the trash several times. He stopped the truck at the Circle K at Gulf Manor and West Michigan Avenue shortly after 4 a.m. and that's where Escambia County Fire Rescue and EMS responded to help.
Wood said he is unaware of what type of injuries the man had or how serious they were, but the man was conscious when crews pulled him out and took him to the hospital. His medical status is not known.
"We went ahead and called a trauma just because of the magnitude of the incident itself and how long it took to be able to gain access to the patient," Wood said.
Wood said county emergency crews often respond to a variety of calls involving the homeless. As unusual as this incident seems, Wood said rescue crews have responded to calls like this before.
"My battalion chief who has been doing this for over 30 years said this is his fourth time coming across something like this," said Wood. "So, it doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s not the first time."
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Wood added it's also not uncommon for homeless individuals to sleep or stay in dumpsters as a way to shelter from weather and others who may want to harm or steal from them.
"We would like to advise people to please avoid dumpsters for safety reasons," said Wood. "For some people it’s common. If there’s a message we want to send out, it's please work with one of our local homeless partners to get the best care possible."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County homeless man rescued from garbage truck
