A pre-dawn trash collection in San Francisco turned into a life-or-death rescue operation when a man was accidentally dumped from a commercial dumpster into a garbage truck and partially crushed by its compactor.
The incident occurred near Mason and Eddy streets, just steps from the citys crime-plagued Tenderloin District, an area that has become a national symbol of urban decay and failed progressive governance, according to Gateway Pundit. As reported by Gateway Pundit, the man had reportedly been rummaging through a commercial dumpster when a Recology driver lifted the container with the trucks mechanical arm and emptied its contents into the rear of the vehicle.
The victim was dropped into the truck and buried beneath an estimated 30 cubic yards of refuse before anyone realized he was inside. Bystanders then heard frantic screams coming from the truck and flagged down the driver, but by that point the compactor had already been activated at least once.
Twenty-five San Francisco firefighters responded and began the painstaking task of removing the garbage by hand, working from inside the trucks load rather than simply dumping it onto the street. Crews feared that offloading the entire pile at once could further crush or kill the trapped man, so they slowly dismantled the heap piece by piece.
Throughout the ordeal, the victim remained conscious and was able to communicate with rescuers as they closed in on his location. Paramedics managed to reach one of his arms through the debris and administer medication via IV even before firefighters fully uncovered him.
Video from the scene showed firefighters standing waist-deep in a mountain of trash as they searched for the buried man in the dark, cramped space. We were thinking it was a baby because they were going so slow and doing it so carefully, witness Freddy Diaz told KTVU.
After roughly two hours, firefighters finally extricated the victim and transported him to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition. One firefighter suffered a hand laceration during the dangerous rescue and required stitches.
This is pretty unusual, Recology spokesman Robert Reed said, noting that it had been about 15 years since firefighters last pulled someone from one of the companys trucks. Authorities have not released the mans identity or confirmed whether he is homeless, and officials plan to interview him at the hospital to determine why he was inside the dumpsteranother stark snapshot of a city where vulnerable people increasingly find themselves literally sifting through the trash.
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