Posted on Thu, Oct. 22, 2009
A homeless man sleeping in a Dumpster was crushed to death in a trash compactor during a garbage collector's morning rounds yesterday in North Philadelphia, police said.
The trash-truck driver told police that he emptied the Dumpster at Meade Elementary School, on 18th Street near Oxford, about 4 a.m. and activated the compactor shortly after.
The driver thought he heard someone say: "Yo! Yo! Yo!" but couldn't pinpoint the voice's location, police said.
He drove to his next stop at Carver High School, on Norris Street near 17th, where he exited the truck to open a gate, police said. He heard the "Yo! Yo! Yo!" protest again, fainter, and alerted authorities, police said.
Police found the victim inside, unresponsive. Medics declared him dead at the scene. The victim appeared to be in his 40s, police said.
- Dana DiFilippo
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