Man rescued after becoming trapped inside garbage truck

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) - A man in Nebraska was rescued from the inside of a garbage truck last week.

First responders with the Omaha Fire Department were called to the parking lot of an apartment complex in Omaha around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Once there, they acted quickly to save a man who became trapped in a garbage truck.

“I saw the first fire truck arrive and then I saw the guys getting out and looking over to a garbage truck,” witness Kevin Perlic said. “They were knocking on the side of the truck and kind of listening. My take on it was that there was somebody inside.”

Perlic was right.

Omaha Fire officials said the driver unloaded the dumpster into the truck, but when he checked his safety camera, he saw a man moving around. He called 911 right away.

“A short time later, the ladder truck came and they were using that as kind of a crane to get him out,” Perlic said. “Two of the guys climbed in and had a stretcher waiting. They were down there for probably 15 minutes or so before they hoisted him out.”

The fire department said the man was injured and couldn’t pull himself out of the garbage truck.

Perlic feared that the man may have lost his life, but was relieved to see him breathing when rescue crews pulled him out of the truck and put him in an ambulance.

“There was a body bag out there, but they obviously didn’t use it, so he was at least alive when they put him in the ambulance,” Perlic said.

Officials said he was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Still, Perlic is concerned about the situation that put the man in the garbage truck.

“In all likelihood, it was somebody homeless,” Perlic said. “It’s so cold out, I’m sure they were seeking shelter and trying to stay warm. It just made me feel bad. That’s somebody’s existence to survive — seeking shelter in a dumpster."

Amy Harvey oversees the Street Ministry and Homeless Protection department at Omaha’s Open Door Mission.

“We do a street ministry outreach and we frequently run into people who don’t know where their resources are,” Harvey said. “They don’t know how to seek shelter or they’re too under the influence to know that they need to seek shelter.”

Harvey said that even though shelters are usually full this time of year, they can find room to keep anyone out of the elements in an emergency. Lately, being outside in the weather can be life-threatening.

“We have emergency service shelter both for women and children and also men,” Harvey said.

None of this had to happen, according to Harvey, and she hopes people reach out for help instead of putting themselves in a dangerous situation.

“It’s just so sad, and it’s so hard,” Harvey said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

If you or someone you know need shelter, call the Open Door Mission at 402-422-1111, or simply show up at the Mission’s campus at 2828 N. 23 Street. They will assess the situation and do what they can to help keep anyone out of the bitter cold.

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