Man sleeping in dumpster gets picked up with trash

[July 28, 2009]  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities said a man who had been sleeping in a Dumpster sustained minor injuries after he was picked up by a garbage truck along with the trash.

Authorities said that when firefighters and paramedics arrived, they heard Kevin Hallaran, 52, banging on the metal sides of the sanitation truck asking for help.

Hallaran had been sleeping inside a Dumpster behind a restaurant Sunday night and had been unknowingly dumped along with the garbage from restaurants and other businesses into the truck early Monday.

A sanitation department employee had not yet activated the truck's compactor after he mistakenly dumped Hallaran inside.

Authorities said the compactor would most likely have killed Hallaran.

[Associated Press]

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