Arizona sanitation worker crushed in garbage truck

[March 17, 2009]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Phoenix police say a sanitation worker has been crushed to death in the compactor of his garbage truck.

Police identified the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene Monday, as 60-year-old Robert Amaral.

Authorities say Amaral was trying to fix a problem with the machinery and somehow got caught in the equipment. They believe he was alone at the time.

Police are treating the incident as an accidental death investigation.

Darin Perkins, director of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, says the truck belonged to a private contractor.

Perkins says his agency was investigating the cause and whether any violations of safety standards may have led to the accident.

[Associated Press]

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