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Man sleeping in Tampa bin injured by garbage truck compactor

 
It took Tampa Fire Rescue crews more than an hour to extricate Tristan Godsey, 32, from inside the garbage truck early Wednesday at W Hillsborough Avenue and N Dale Mabry Highway.
It took Tampa Fire Rescue crews more than an hour to extricate Tristan Godsey, 32, from inside the garbage truck early Wednesday at W Hillsborough Avenue and N Dale Mabry Highway.
Published Feb. 9, 2017

TAMPA — Brian McCranie was about to dump another load into the belly of his big green garbage truck Wednesday morning when he heard screams.

A man trapped in the container of the Waste Management truck was yelling for help. McCranie, who had just pulled into a Dollar General store on Hillsborough Avenue, called 911.

A Tampa police officer arrived, climbed on top of the truck and saw the man, 32-year-old Tristan Godsey. He was conscious and breathing but was hurt, according to a police report.

"Godsey advised that he could not feel his legs and one of them may be broken due to being compacted by the garbage truck," Officer Ricky Diaz Jr. said in a report.

It took Tampa Fire Rescue more than an hour to rescue Godsey, loading him into a basket and hoisting it out with a winch attached to a ladder truck. He had been trapped by the truck's compactor and was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with a leg injury, according to the report.

The injury was not life-threatening, and Godsey was listed in stable condition, a Tampa Fire rescue spokesman said.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Godsey is homeless. The police report listed his last home address on the 10000 block of N 14th Street in north Tampa.

Authorities said Godsey had fallen asleep in a commercial garbage or recycling bin but they did not have details about where it was located or how long Godsey was in the truck. Strong thunderstorms moved through the Tampa Bay area early Wednesday.

McCraine told police he pulled into the Dollar General at 3935 Hillsborough Ave. about 5:15 a.m. and was opening a garbage gate when he heard the screams.

Dawn McCormick, a spokeswoman for Waste Management, referred questions about the incident to police and fire officials.

"We're pleased that our driver was alert, heard the sounds and did the right thing by quickly calling 911," McCormick said.

There was a similar close call in Tampa two years ago.

In February 2015, a man and woman apparently fell asleep in a bin outside a Wawa convenience store after spending time at the nearby Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

As the driver for Progressive Waste Solutions drove to his next pickup, he activated the compactor blade to make room for more refuse. That's when he saw a man jumping up and down on the closed-circuit camera that monitors the compaction. He stopped the compactor, pulled over on U.S. 301 N near Interstate 75 and called 911. Neither was seriously injured.

Two men who fell asleep in garbage bins in Leon County last year were not as lucky. Both were killed by trash compactors in unrelated incidents, according to news reports. Their bodies were found two months apart at a county transfer station.

McCormick said Wednesday's incident is another cautionary tale.

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"We want to remind people that containers are not a safe place to seek shelter," she said.

Times senior news researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact Tony Marrero at tmarrero@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @tmarrerotimes.