Dumpster diver nearly crushed in garbage truck
A woman was seconds from being crushed when her sister drove up to a garbage truck, screaming for the driver to stop.
Jeff Gillis, the Waste Management driver, had just emptied a dumpster behind the Wichita Mall into the back of his vehicle and was preparing to press a button to compact the garbage.
The woman had climbed into the dumpster to look for scrap metal before the truck rollup up before 5 a.m. Thursday. When the driver turned off the engine, he and the sister could hear screams for help.
Firefighters used an aerial platform truck and a rescue basket to free the woman from the garbage. Rescuers had to dig through the debris by hand to reach her.
"This is a very unusual call," said acting Battalion Chief Frank Buck. "A lot of the skills these guys have obtained over the years were evident in getting this person out of the back of the trash truck."
The woman was transported to a hospital to be checked out, but firefighters did not believe she was seriously hurt.
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