Homeless man sleeping in Hot Springs dumpster emptied into garbage truck

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A homeless man fell 5 feet into a garbage truck Monday morning while sleeping in a dumpster to escape below-freezing temperatures, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported.

Hot Springs Sanitation Department workers did not see anyone in the dumpster behind the Pizza Hut on 108 Crawford Drive before flipping the trash into the truck, according to the paper. The man wasn't discovered until the driver heard banging from inside the truck and stopped to open the compression box door.

"People typically hear the truck pull up and then get out," said Randy Atkinson, director of the Hot Springs Sanitation Department. "With all the noise, I'm amazed he didn't wake up."

The newspaper reported that LifeNet Emergency Medical Services and Hot Springs police responded to the scene, but the man refused treatment.

Despite protocols that require disposal workers to check the dumpster before it is emptied, the man was difficult to see because he was buried beneath cardboard to stay warm. Employees must also watch the trash as it comes out of the dumpster, but it was dark, and the man was wearing camouflage, the newspaper reported.

"We do everything possible to check except climbing in and sifting through trash," Atkinson said.

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