KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Police in Kalamazoo are reporting that a man trapped inside a garbage truck was successfully rescued early Monday morning.
Police say that at 4:45 a.m., Officers from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety were sent to the 1200 block of Portage Street for a report of a man stuck inside a garbage truck.
The man had apparently been sleeping inside a dumpster at the time that it was being emptied. The driver of the truck had not yet compressed the garbage, saving the man’s life.
Responding officers were assisted by the KDPS Technical Rescue Team to remove him. The team accessed the victim by using ladders to climb into the truck from the top.
The man was then transferred to a local hospital for minor injuries.
Police say this is the first activation of the Kalamazoo Tech Rescue Team, which has been in operation for approximately one year.
According to an official press release, the team consists of 21 members of KDPS and is trained in rope, confined space, trench, and collapse rescue operations. The team is part of the Michigan 5th District Technical Rescue Team and trains monthly in preparation for incidents like this.
