A New Hampshire woman was critically wounded after she fell into a large trash bin and then was tossed into a garbage compacting truck.
A top emergency response official in the city of Manchester said crews were greeted with a remarkably unusual scene after the woman in question fell into an apartment complex’s garbage bin while taking out some trash. She stayed in the bin until a sanitation truck arrived to empty the contents of the bin.
The truck’s driver spotted the woman – through a camera on the vehicle – after the trash had been compacted up to four times, officials wrote in a report reviewed by the Manchester Ink Link.
Emergency responders pulled the woman out alive by using a basket attached to a fire truck as well as a crane.
The woman was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her injuries reportedly included broken bones, and she was expected to recover.
Officials have not said how long they believe the woman was in the trash bin before being pulled out.
They also would not immediately say whether she was a resident of the complex into whose trash bin she fell – and exactly how she came to land there. Officials said would only say they believe she was thrown into the truck when it arrived to collect the garbage.
“I can tell you that she was not an unsheltered individual, but as to why she was in there, we don’t know yet,” the local fire department’s chief, Ryan Cashin, said to the Manchester Ink Link.
Firefighters said they could speak with the woman through the truck’s side access, but she was not alert enough to answer any questions.
Neighbors and witnesses told local news outlet WFXT that they could hear the woman crying out.
“All you heard was screaming,” Amanda Czzowitz reportedly said to WFXT. “She was in agony.”
The Manchester fire department could not be immediately reached for additional comment. But Cashin told WBTS: “I have never seen one like this.”
