Photos: Close Call for Dogs, Man Trapped in Trash Compactor in Palmer Township, PA
The Express-Times
(TNS)
Emergency responders rescued a man and two dogs from the body of a trash truck after its compactor was engaged Thursday morning outside Easton.
The driver heard banging and screaming just in time, Palmer Township Police Sgt. Tyson Unangst said.
“This gentleman’s very fortunate that the driver of the hauler was attentive during his route to hear this male in the back,” Unangst told lehighvalleylive.com.
The man, in his early 40s, was being evaluated and treated at an area hospital for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, and the dogs were taken uninjured to be held in the police department’s kennel, according to police.
Alerted to the unfolding ordeal, the driver of the Republic Services truck dialed 911 just after 5 a.m. from Redner’s Warehouse Market, 3745 Nicholas St. in Palmer Township.
Officers arrived within moments and could hear yelling and banging from inside the rear of the full-sized garbage hauler, Unangst said.
They were soon joined by the Palmer Municipal Fire Department and Suburban EMS, which began working to free the man and the dogs.
“The male and both dogs were removed successfully without further injury,” Unangst said.
Investigators determined the male and two dogs were picked up earlier Thursday in a dumpster off Kunkle Drive in the township, according to police.
It was not immediately clear why the man and the dogs were in the dumpster, though it did not appear they were living in it, police said.
After leaving Kunkle Drive, the truck made three more scheduled stops before the driver noticed anything was wrong.
Behind Redner’s, the driver had activated the hydraulic system to compact the garbage and started hearing the banging and screaming from inside the rear of the truck.
Police were continuing to investigate.
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