BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A trash truck driver was pinned inside his own truck near the intersection of California and R streets.
It happened shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, for some unknown reason when the driver was pinned by the operation grate in the trash collection part of the truck.
Firefighters said the 62-year-old man was in the trash collection area in the center of the vehicle.
The man was conscious and alert, fire officials said.
Crews were able to disconnect a pneumatic line, which released the force being applied by the metal grate, officials said.
Witnesses told 23ABC that the man appeared to have had something stuck in the machine and was trying to un-jam it.
The man was sucked in, witnesses told 23ABC.
Batallion Chief Ross Kelly with the Bakersfield Fire Department said the department has never had this type of rescue before.
Crews were able to remove the man from the truck and he was taken to Kern Medical Center with leg and shoulder injuries.
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