Garbage Truck Rolls, Traps Driver in Colorado

Oct. 26, 2012

Three Greeley Fire Department units responded to a rollover crash involving a garbage truck on Oct. 25.

At 7:18 a.m. units were called to a traffic accident at the intersection of Highway 85 and O Street, north of Greeley.

Arriving fire crews called for more assistance after seeing that the crash involved four vehicles. A precarious situation included the rolled over trash truck, which landed on top of a car. Both were at the top edge of a 50-foot ice- and snow-covered steep embankment.

Firefighters found that the driver of the truck was trapped in the cab of the unstable truck and called for a heavy duty tow truck. They communicated with him by yelling through the windshield and determined that he was not hurt.

Crews attached a cable to the truck to prevent it from sliding down the embankment and potentially crushing the driver and firefighters were able to cut out the the windshield and free the driver.

The car that the truck came to rest upon had three passengers, two of them children in child safety seats, in the back of the vehicle. All three escaped unijnured, but were transported to the hospital as a precaution.

Firefighters assessed the scene to ensure no hazardous materials or fluids had been spilled.

Units on scene: Engine 1, Ladder 1, Battalion 1

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