A man was pulled from the back of a garbage truck in west Houston early Friday morning after the driver of the truck heard him screaming for help during a routine pickup. The driver had been emptying a recycling dumpster into the back of the truck when she heard his calls. The man told her he had injured his legs and could not get out on his own.
The Houston Fire Department responded just before 4 a.m. They arrived at a a commercial building on Westheimer Road. Crews used an aerial ladder and a Stokes basket to rescue the man. He remained conscious and alert during the successful rescue attempt.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment of the leg injuries he had reported to the driver. His condition has not been released publicly. The dumpster the man had been in contained cardboard, the fire department said, and no valuables.
How and why the man came to be inside the dumpster is still being investigated. The Houston Fire Department hasn’t said whether he had been dumpster diving for materials, experiencing homelessness, or if he had ended up there in some other way. Police seem to be stumped as of yet by the situation.
How the Man Was Rescued
According to the Houston Fire Department, crews were dispatched at about 3:49 a.m. on Friday, May 29, to the rear of a building in the 7500 block of Westheimer Road, near South Voss Road, in west Houston. A woman driving a garbage truck had been emptying a recycling dumpster into the back of her vehicle when she heard a man screaming for help from inside the truck. The man told her that he had injured his legs and could not get himself out. She called 911.
Houston Fire Department crews arrived and used an aerial ladder and a Stokes basket to lift the man out of the back of the garbage truck, according to the department. Video from the scene showed firefighters carefully lifting the man clear before transferring him to a stretcher.
What Investigators Don’t Yet Know
The fire department said the man was conscious and alert through the rescue and was able to help the firefighters as they moved him onto the stretcher. He was then taken to a hospital for treatment. The Houston Fire Department said the dumpster the man had been inside contained cardboard and no valuables.
As stated, it’s not clear why he had been in the dumpster. However he came to be inside, the fact that he was stuck was more than a small issue. The man’s condition after he was admitted to the hospital has not been released, and the incident remains under investigation.