This incident is so scary when you think of what might have happened to a hapless man. He was actually trapped inside the compactor of a garbage truck in San Francisco, unbeknownst to the driver. Per the San Francisco Fire Department's Instagram, at 4:11 a.m., on Wednesday, September 2, "[C]rews responded to Mason Street near the Powell BART station after reports of yelling from inside a Recology garbage truck. Firefighters unloaded the entire truck and spent approximately two [hours] searching through the debris to reach the trapped individual. The man was rescued, conscious, and speaking with crews before being transported to a local trauma center."
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Photos show multiple firefighters going through a mountain of trash that was put on the pavement in order to find the man. He was reportedly originally inside a dumpster. Its contents, including him, were then deposited in the garbage truck.
A Passerby Allegedly Heard the Man Screaming From Inside the Truck
Per People, the truck's driver made the first stop on the route as usual. He reportedly compacted the trash he picked up just once. At that point, "...[A] person walking nearby heard the man shouting. The person notified the driver before he emptied the next load of trash."
Captain Mariano Elias, the public information officer of the San Francisco Fire Department, said per the outlet that the garbage truck driver shut the truck off. He then also heard the trapped man yelling.
What the Firefighters Did Next
There were not too many safe options to help this guy. He was unable to climb out. Dumping all the trash in the truck on the street in one big pile was ruled out. So the crew on scene started digging through it to find him. For two long hours in the middle of the night, they went through the huge mass of refuse. While they did so, the man was communicating as best he could.
Elias recalled, "I personally heard him yell a few times. I don't know if that was in pain or just frustration." Paramedics gave him an I.V. to guard against crush syndrome. Per the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine, muscle cells, when ruptured or crushed, release certain substances. When those substances get into the bloodstream. they can be toxic "in large amounts."
A San Francisco Fire Department Spokesperson Called the Incident "Unfortunate"
Elias said per People, "It's an unfortunate situation to lead someone to go into a dumpster, whether that was to sleep or fish through some things to find something for himself or something to eat, but the good part of his outcome is that he's alive."
According to The San Francisco Standard, "A Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital spokesperson said late Wednesday morning that the person was listed in serious condition."
