SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco firefighters rescued a man trapped inside a garbage truck early Wednesday morning after he was accidentally loaded into the vehicle along with the contents of a dumpster.
Read more Teen dies from brain-eating amoeba just days after Louisiana child’s death
Rescuing man from garbage truck
What we know:
San Francisco firefighters free man from Recology garbage truck. Photo: SFFD Sept. 2, 2026
The rescue occurred near the intersection of Mason and Eddy streets.
According to San Francisco firefighters, the drama began around 4:10 a.m. when a Recology driver picked up a dumpster and emptied it into the back of his truck. Firefighters said the man had been digging around inside the dumpster before it was dumped into the vehicle.
Shouting for help
Why you should care:
Bystanders immediately flagged down the Recology truck after hearing the man shouting and calling for help from inside the garbage container. The driver used the vehicle’s compactor once before realizing someone was trapped.
Twenty-five firefighters responded to the scene and had to manually pull out the truck’s contents to reach the victim, who was completely buried under a giant pile of debris.
While the man remained trapped, paramedics managed to reach his arm through the trash to administer medication through an IV for his injuries.
Read more DOJ expands beef price investigation to Walmart, Costco, Amazon and other major retailers
After roughly two hours, firefighters freed the conscious man and transported him to a hospital.
The full extent and cause of his injuries remain unclear, including whether they resulted from the fall, being buried, or the compactor mechanism. One firefighter sustained a minor cut to his hand during the rescue efforts.
Recology workers later used construction equipment to clear the giant pile of trash left in the street and load it back into a dumpster.
Firefighters plan to interview the man at the hospital to determine what he was doing in the dumpster prior to the incident.
Read more Tiger Woods strikes plea deal in Florida DUI crash case; driver’s license suspended for 5 years