Garbage truck picks up dumpster man was in, causing serious injuries

A man is seriously hurt after becoming trapped in the back of a garbage truck in Macomb County.

The Macomb County Sheriff's Office says the man was in a garbage dumpster behind the United Methodist Church in Mount Clemens when the truck arrived and emptied the dumpster.

The driver said he had made a trash pick-up at the United Methodist Church, followed by more than a dozen other stops before he realized the man was in the back of the truck.

During his route, which began at 3 a.m. the garbage truck driver pulled into a fast food parking lot and happened to glance at a camera monitor, and he saw the man's arm waving from inside the back of the truck.

The driver immediately went to the Harrison Township Fire Department building for help.  The man, who we're told is in his 40s, was rescued and hospitalized. It is believed he was sleeping inside the dumpster when the garbage truck operator unknowingly collected him.

"As he got out of the truck, he heard some screaming from inside the container," said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. "This truck was equipped with a camera inside the container where was able to see an arm inside all the garbage. That was when he immediately drove to the Harrison Township Fire Department and they began rescue efforts."

The garbage truck driver has been cooperative with the investigation and no charges are expected.