A man sleeping in a dumpster in Carrick woke up Monday morning in the back of a garbage truck and had to be rescued, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said.
The man, who wasn’t identified by police, had lost track of a friend, needed a place to sleep and decided to use a dumpster in the 2100 block of Brownsville Road, Cruz said he told police.
A driver for Republic Services called authorities to assist at about 3:30 a.m. when he emptied the dumpster into his truck and heard the man screaming. The driver called 911 because he couldn’t get the man out of the truck on his own.
Firefighters were able to get the man out, and he was transported to UPMC Mercy hospital where he was treated for minor injuries to his face and knee, Cruz said.
It’s not common for people to get dumped into garbage trucks, but it does happen on occasion, Republic said in a statement.
“Our drivers notify their supervisors and the local authorities right away when this happens,” the company said.
Drivers work to make sure the person is safe when it happens, the statement said, although it didn’t detail what’s done.
