Man dies after being dumped in Texas trash truck's compactor

Officials say a man in Texas is dead after being dumped into a garbage truck's compactor on Wednesday morning.

The man was reportedly sleeping in a trash bin when its contents were dumped into the truck's compactor, NBCDFW.com reported. Police say the incident happened before 7 a.m. local time Wednesday outside an auto parts store in Fort Worth, according to The Dallas Morning News.

When the truck crushed its load, the garbage truck driver reportedly heard a screaming man, NBCDFW.com reported.


Fort Worth Police Department Spokesperson Sharron Neal said the man was transported to an area hospital where he later died. Neal could not confirm to NBC News whether or not the man was homeless.

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The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine his identity and the cause of the man's death.

Temperatures in the area dropped into the 20s overnight Tuesday, according to NBCDFW.com.

NBCDFW.com's Frank Heinz, Christina Miralla and Kevin Stewart contributed to this story.

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Comment author avatardenver bill 2Expand Comment Comment collapsed by the community

I always try to be awake at least an hour before I have a pressing engagement.

  • 24 votes
Reply#1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:37 PM EST

Good Evening Bill

Wow, you are on it tonight! Good'un.

Just like Steve Martin in "any one wanna get small"?

  • 1 vote
#1.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:07 PM EST

Yeah, so hilarious when a homeless person gets crushed to death. I guess kicking your 3 legged dog is next on your list Bill.

  • 26 votes
#1.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:09 PM EST

A man died because he had no place to sleep except in a trash bin, and you think that's funny. It's not; it's very sad.

  • 39 votes
#1.3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:13 PM EST

@ixlr8 Never mind

    #1.4 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:21 PM EST

    ge jack

    IXLR8, mozzie-600,

    You can laugh, or you can cry. It changes nothing. Personally, I prefer laughter.

    "Life is a tragedy to those who feel, and a comedy to those who think." ---Horace Walpole

    • 12 votes
    #1.5 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:26 PM EST

    Your not funny DenverBill, your just a sad joke here.............

    • 10 votes
    #1.6 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:48 PM EST

    I am sure he had a place to sleep they open a number of shelters whens it cold or very hot. He either decided he didn't want to go or he choose his drugs or alcohol over following the rules to get a place to sleep

    • 4 votes
    #1.7 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:52 PM EST

    Hmm, I don't have any issue laughing about unusual deaths. How do you people get through life knowing that hundreds of thousands of people die everyday. Is each one a horror to you? Lighten up.

    • 10 votes
    #1.8 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:58 PM EST

    Bob Costas just said all dumpsters must be outlawed, this man would be alive today if it weren't for all those dumpsters

    • 5 votes
    #1.9 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:11 PM EST

    Personally, I prefer laughter.

    I genuinely doubt Horace Walpole would have found much humor in a homeless man being crushed to death in a garbage truck, Bill.

    • 7 votes
    #1.10 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:34 PM EST

    That's what you've got, huh? Homeless guy dies a horrible death, and that's "top of mind" for you today? Clever, no really, you impressed everybody. Well done, we look forward to being stuck with you in the new year.

    • 4 votes
    #1.11 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:39 PM EST

    I'm sorry that it happened to him. There are signs on all of the dumpsters here, warning not to climb into them; I wonder: Did some unhelpful people found him passed out or otherwise unconscious (stroke, heart attack, whatever) and put him there as a joke?

    • 2 votes
    #1.12 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:40 PM EST

    *obligatory rimshot*

      #1.13 - Thu Dec 20, 2012 4:52 PM EST
      Reply

      Why would you be passed out in a dumpster if you weren't homeless?

      • 3 votes
      Reply#2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:48 PM EST

      There is the possibility that the man was drunk and thought it would be a good idea to crash there for the night. Possibly someone who had done drugs the night before. They want to confirm the man was indeed homeless before stating so officially.

      • 2 votes
      #2.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:11 PM EST

      same reason why you wake up hungover next to someone you don't know.

      • 11 votes
      #2.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:16 PM EST

      SilverStreak - same reason why you wake up hungover next to someone you don't know.

      You may have had that experience, I daresay most of us have not.

      • 6 votes
      #2.3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:19 PM EST

      Notice i said "passed out" and not sleeping? Pretty sure you would wake up when you heard the truck if you were just "sleeping.

      • 5 votes
      #2.4 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:34 PM EST

      The guy was a die hard republican.

      There.... now the bleeding heart liberals can laugh about it too.

      • 2 votes
      #2.5 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:42 PM EST

      Too late, this liberal was already laughing her ass off :)

      • 1 vote
      #2.6 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:53 PM EST

      Yeah, and wait for it........ this guy's wonderful relatives who didn't care where he slept filing a lawsuit against the trash company, the city, or whoever to try to profit from this. Always happens.

      • 2 votes
      #2.7 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:39 PM EST

      It's all about hating "the other side" no matter what the topic is. Ain't that right, otherhand?

        #2.8 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:08 AM EST

        You can't fix stupid. Give him a Darwin Award. Hopefully he is in a better place.

          #2.9 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:22 AM EST
          Reply
          Comment author avatarRackNStackExpand Comment Comment collapsed by the community

          I think I've found the answer to our homeless problem.

          • 1 vote
          Reply#3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:56 PM EST

          Moral of story: Put up your 'diver down flag' before you take a nap in your dumpster so the truck driver will know you're in there before he compacts the load of trash.

          • 4 votes
          Reply#4 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 5:56 PM EST

          To bad Texas don't have subways..safer for homeless people.

          Most times it takes weeks to find out how a person died..in this case minutes, are they sure he wasn't killed and dumped into the dumpster...then crushed like a tomato?

          • 1 vote
          Reply#5 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:12 PM EST

          unless they get pushed.

          • 1 vote
          #5.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:16 PM EST

          Was a homeless guy who did the pushing in NYC..guy who died was a family man.

          • 4 votes
          #5.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:19 PM EST

          Dead men scream no tales.

          • 2 votes
          #5.3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:21 PM EST

          Well Mike N..you don't know me..and if we meet up face to face..I can lie to you..correct?

          Next question..do you know the truck driver who said he heard the screaming?

            #5.4 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:24 PM EST

            unless somebody pushes you on to the subway track and then takes your picture and then, well, you know

              #5.5 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:55 PM EST

              Looking at the bright side: They can use a smaller, less expensive coffin.

              • 1 vote
              #5.6 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:26 AM EST
              Reply

              Let me help you, cause of death : Trash compactor.

              • 7 votes
              Reply#6 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:15 PM EST

              Congested heart failure.

              • 2 votes
              #6.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:30 PM EST

              Trauma to the head.

                #6.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:57 PM EST

                Cause of death: Blatant stupidity

                • 1 vote
                #6.3 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:27 AM EST
                Reply
                Comment author avatarhiijjhExpand Comment Comment collapsed by the community

                Well It looks like this man derams

                *puts on sunglasses*

                Were crushed.

                YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

                • 1 vote
                Reply#7 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:19 PM EST

                There's a tasteless joke in here about him be buried in a shoebox, but I won't go there.

                • 1 vote
                Reply#8 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:23 PM EST

                As more and more people become homeless, I am sure we will read more stories similar to this one.

                • 5 votes
                Reply#9 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:31 PM EST

                This story is weird in multiple ways. How could he not wake up while or before the trash can was being dumped? Secondly, how could the person who dumped the trash can lift a whole person (being that a person is much heavier than a trash can)? Thirdly, how could the dumper not notice that there is a person inside? I guess the person must've passed out, and the dumper must've only tilted rather than lifted the can.

                • 3 votes
                #9.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:46 PM EST

                Modern garbage trucks have automatic arms that grab and lift the trash can and dump its contents into the compactor. The driver doesn't even have to get out of the garbage truck.

                • 11 votes
                #9.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:55 PM EST

                AB-1981, not all garbage trucks are loaded manually. Many in our area have a device that clamps onto the garbage can and empties into the top of the hopper to crush it.

                • 5 votes
                #9.3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:03 PM EST
                Comment author avatarAB-1981Expand Comment Comment collapsed by the community

                In this case, I would imagine a lot of animals must have been crushed to death by virtue of the auto-loader. Such is life.

                • 3 votes
                #9.4 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:09 PM EST

                A trash bin is a big commercial sized bin, (big difference from a trash can) the truck just pulls up to it and uses their pitchforks to grab it and lift it up to the trash opening at the top of the truck, they dont even have to leave the truck unless the bin is in an area that requires moving it to gain access.

                • 4 votes
                #9.5 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:27 PM EST

                AB-1981 -- You must live in the middle of nowhere, and have stayed their your whole life, if you've never seen a large trash bin lifted and dumped by a mechanical arm.

                That's more incredible than the story itself.

                • 3 votes
                #9.6 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:59 PM EST

                AB-animals have enough sense to flee when they hear the truck come.

                • 5 votes
                #9.7 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:36 PM EST

                @ErikWDC, I'm working at the office when my trash is getting picked up. Ever think of that happening? Plus, I'm certain that mine is picked up manually. I have probably lived in more places than you.

                • 1 vote
                #9.8 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:51 PM EST

                Long time, no see, Hot.

                  #9.9 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:35 PM EST

                  Well AB, since you asked quite a lot of questions that you could have answered yourself just by reading the article and having a little life experience, then no, I don't think you've been more places than anyone.

                  • 1 vote
                  #9.10 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:36 AM EST
                  Reply

                  So sad. I feel for the man who was crushed to death, but also for the operators of the garbage truck. This will no doubt stay with them for quite a while. I hope the company provides them with the opportunity to speak with a counselor. God be with them...

                  • 5 votes
                  Reply#10 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:32 PM EST

                  @NyNy-2742735, you mean the same God who was not with him and let him die? There is no cause for a divine consideration here, but if you must insist on one, your god was either careless or worse...malicious in this case.

                  • 7 votes
                  #10.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:11 PM EST

                  God wasn't with him because God was having breakfast with me. Sorry.

                  • 1 vote
                  #10.2 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:32 AM EST
                  Reply

                  Story could get worse. They could find out he was a homeless vet.

                  • 1 vote
                  Reply#11 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:41 PM EST

                  You want God to be with them after the damage was done?

                  • 3 votes
                  Reply#12 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 6:51 PM EST

                  Funny, right? The same god who let him get crushed to death...

                  • 3 votes
                  #12.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:12 PM EST
                  Reply

                  Squish!

                    Reply#13 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:37 PM EST

                    Not a good way to die, but chances are that this individual was sleeping in a garbage bin because of job troubles, foreclosure, financial woes, etc. The economic disaster perpetrated by Repugnicans before 2008 just keeps on giving.

                    • 4 votes
                    Reply#14 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:55 PM EST

                    Never in the history of the USA has there been a case of a homeless person or unemployed person, during a Democratic administration.

                    • 3 votes
                    #14.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:04 PM EST
                    Reply

                    don't buy ground beef in the next two weeks

                    • 1 vote
                    Reply#15 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:03 PM EST

                    There is no excuse for this to happen in America today!!! Given the amount of money this country pisses away on social programs, this person without a doubt had a place to sleep. If he were mentlly off, still no excuse because we have nobama care, a program designed to take the working mans money so that those who refuse to work can have a life filled with medical care. Simply put, NO EXCUSE!!!!!!!!!!! Jobs don't quit people, people quit jobs. Guns don't kill people, people kill people!!! Morons!!!!!!!!!!!!

                    • 1 vote
                    Reply#16 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:09 PM EST

                    Maybe someone beat him up and he was unconscious. Do all your rationalizations help you feel like it's okay he was crushed to death?

                    • 3 votes
                    #16.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:39 PM EST

                    Never said it was ok, just giving my take on it. Should I assume you think it is ok to take from a working man so as to redistribute to a lazy a$$ who refuses to work? Maybe I should assume you are one of the takers. Either way, I fail to care!!!

                      #16.2 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:49 PM EST

                      Incredible display of brainwashing, dee do. You really believe all those people who got "laid off" actually quit their jobs instead?

                      • 3 votes
                      #16.3 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:39 PM EST

                      You don't fail to care dee do, you just fail as a human being that's all.

                      Sad really

                      • 2 votes
                      #16.4 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:34 AM EST
                      Reply

                      People die every second one way or other. AB 1881 it said BIN not CART i am surprised the driver even heard the man scream those trucks are very noisy and loud, so now AB you can be 1981!

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#17 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:29 PM EST

                      The sick comments from equally sick people never ceases to amaze me- that these types are actually walking among us. These are the mind-sets that we need to look over our shoulder at and walk fast, away from them, just in case.

                      • 3 votes
                      Reply#18 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:59 PM EST

                      My heart goes out to this man and his family. Being crushed to death has got to be one of the worst ways to die I can think of. No one deserves a death in this manner. God speed sir.

                      That being said, Cassandra, woke up on the wrong side of the bed, did we? I am as compasionate as the next person, maybe more. But really, lighten up. Some of these jokes really are funny despite the disasterous circumstances of this man's death. Some people use levity to help them get through things like this; it does not mean that those who make jokes in instances like this don't have a heart and are not loving caring people. Using levity is just how some people cope with circumstances like this.

                      denver bill 2, backtobasics, silverstreak, LOL!!! Thanks, this situation is just so senseless. One either laughs at the absurdity of this life or one will spend their entire life crying because of it.

                        #18.1 - Tue Dec 18, 2012 9:41 AM EST

                        Really funny? Anyone who gets a 'rip-roaring' laugh out of the jokes in this vine is 'short a six-pack'. True, the jokes on this vine are not in as bad of taste as those after some other stories. But the fact that any of it seems that funny presages a society like Brazil or El Salvador, where they shoot their homeless population to death when they get tired of those on their streets at that time. True.

                        • 1 vote
                        #18.2 - Tue Dec 25, 2012 6:22 PM EST
                        Reply

                        AB1881, dummy ! It was a garbage bin. Not a garbage can. Dummy !

                        • 1 vote
                        Reply#19 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:10 PM EST

                        @Cassandra-2440092, you posted out of place. Insert another quarter and try again.

                          #19.1 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:52 PM EST
                          Reply

                          I have to think that a garbage dumpster is a good place for a homeless person to spend the night. Protected by the elements on all four sides and likely a roof depending on the dumpster. It's unfortunate that he chose to sleep in it the wrong day.

                          • 2 votes
                          Reply#20 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:35 PM EST

                          Considering that you can get taken out and crushed, you think wrong. Probably will not survive for long if your trailer fell apart and you became homeless.

                            #20.1 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:31 AM EST
                            Reply

                            wow - and i thought I was a heavy sleeper!

                              Reply#21 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:57 PM EST

                              This happens all too much and could be avoided if the trucks were equipped with thermal alarms.

                              • 1 vote
                              Reply#22 - Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:24 PM EST

                              RIP. Maybe they could give a thermal heat detector to garbage people, what if someone dumped a BABY in there?

                                Reply#23 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:10 AM EST

                                There is no shortage of babies. Just don't put anything or anybody that is not trash into a trash can. It's that simple.

                                  #23.1 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:30 AM EST
                                  Reply

                                  Why is this front page news?

                                  • 1 vote
                                  Reply#24 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:29 AM EST

                                  This was a terrible end for this poor man, but the trash collectors certainly weren't at fault. This man may have been on drugs or mentally ill. Anyone who thinks this is amusing should wonder how they would feel if this had happened to a loved one. I've known a few families of loved ones who were mentally ill, and they also feared for their safety when they wandered away.

                                  • 1 vote
                                  Reply#25 - Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:47 AM EST
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