Quick-Thinking Driver Saves Life Of Man In Recycling Truck

A quick-thinking Recology driver was able to save the life of a man after he accidentally loaded him into his recycling truck in San Francisco’s Sunset District, according to officials.

After beginning his route along Irving Street between 9th and 16th avenues around 6:30AM, the driver picked up a load of cardboard then suddenly became aware of a strange noise.

“He had heard a banging inside the truck, it was an unusual sound,” Recology spokesperson Robert Reed told San Francisco’s ABC 13 News. “And he yelled out, and the person yelled back, so there was a verbal communication between the driver and the man who was in the dumpster,” he said.

The driver headed straight for the fire department a few blocks away, where firefighters crawled into the back of the recycling truck to rescue the man, who had been sleeping and unaware it was trash day.

“This is a very unusual situation,” Reed said. “But the driver, his name is Mike Jones, he did a heck of a job.”

Luckily, when Jones became alert that something was wrong, he turned off the cardboard-compressing hydraulic push wall before crushing the man inside the truck. The man left that day with only minor injuries.

“If he hadn’t heard him, he would’ve been trapped in that thing all day long and could’ve died. So he is a hero, he saved his life,” Reed added.

Jones has been working for Recology for 20 years. After the incident, he gave an interview to the company’s safety department then headed back to finish his route. This is the first time he’s ever found a man inside his truck.

Source
ABC 13
The San Francisco Appeal