dumpster compactor crushes homeless man FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Tue, 27 Oct 1998 00:26:21 -0400
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FWD [Denver, Colorado] Rocky Mountain News - October 26, 1998
HOMELESS MAN CRUSHED IN DUMPSTER'S COMPACTER
Trash collector finds victim, now in hospital
By Hector Gutierrez
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
When William Finley closed the door of the dumpster behind him, he probably
thought he was going to stay warm in the garbage for the rest of the night.
Finley didn't realize the door activated a steel plate compactor that
smashes the trash. He also didn't realize there was no way out.
Crushed by the dumpster, he might have bled to death in the trash behind
Trinity Grille restaurant, if Miguel Ramirez hadn't found him early
Tuesday.
Ramirez, a BFI Waste Systems collector, was making his rounds about 3 a.m.,
emptying dumpsters' contents into his truck.
He drove to the alley in the 1800 block of Broadway and activated his
truck's forklift to slide the dumpster out of the packer. Then, he saw the
blood.
"I was in shock. I stayed frozen," he said. "You don't know what to do in
that situation."
Ramirez, 52, settled the dumpster back on the ground, reversed his truck
and radioed a co-worker to call for help.
Ramirez said he was too shocked to go near Finley's broken, bloodied body.
"I didn't want to see how he was doing," said Ramirez who has worked for
BFI for 20 years.
Paramedics took Finley to Denver Health Medical Center. He was in serious
condition Sunday, with a crushed pelvis and other injuries. Stephanie
Denning, spokeswoman for the hospital, said Finley underwent surgery Friday
on his pelvis.
BFI and Denver authorities believe Finley was seeking shelter after
temperatures dropped considerably on Tuesday. Dumpsters are a common refuge
for the homeless in cold weather.
Dumpsters without packers have lids that open easily -- people sleeping
inside them often hear the trash truck and get out in time, said Dan
Kirkpatrick district vice president for BFI.
Occasionally the homeless are tossed inside a dumpster by a truck, but "not
usually where a person gets hurt like this," Kirkpatrick said.
"During all the 29 years I've worked for BFI, I have never seen a person in
a packer," said the father of three who plans to visit Finley.
The Rev. Ed Judy of Samaritan House, which helps the homeless, said people
who sleep alone in dumpsters often are mentally ill and refuse to be around
others, or aren't accepted at shelters because of inappropriate behavior.
"I would say it's sad that a person comes to a point where they sleep in a
dumpster for whatever reason," Judy said. "Every human being is a person of
dignity even if they themselves might not recognize it. It's not good for
us to just kind of hear about it and move on and forget about it."
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
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FWD [Denver, Colorado] Rocky Mountain News - October 26, 1998
<paraindent><param>right,left</param>HOMELESS MAN CRUSHED IN DUMPSTER'S
COMPACTER
Trash collector finds victim, now in hospital
By Hector Gutierrez
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
</paraindent>
When William Finley closed the door of the dumpster behind him, he
probably thought he was going to stay warm in the garbage for the rest
of the night.
Finley didn't realize the door activated a steel plate compactor that
smashes the trash. He also didn't realize there was no way out.
Crushed by the dumpster, he might have bled to death in the trash
behind Trinity Grille restaurant, if Miguel Ramirez hadn't found him
early Tuesday.
Ramirez, a BFI Waste Systems collector, was making his rounds about 3
a.m., emptying dumpsters' contents into his truck.
He drove to the alley in the 1800 block of Broadway and activated his
truck's forklift to slide the dumpster out of the packer. Then, he saw
the blood.
"I was in shock. I stayed frozen," he said. "You don't know what to do
in that situation."
Ramirez, 52, settled the dumpster back on the ground, reversed his
truck and radioed a co-worker to call for help.
Ramirez said he was too shocked to go near Finley's broken, bloodied
body.
"I didn't want to see how he was doing," said Ramirez who has worked
for BFI for 20 years.
Paramedics took Finley to Denver Health Medical Center. He was in
serious condition Sunday, with a crushed pelvis and other injuries.
Stephanie Denning, spokeswoman for the hospital, said Finley underwent
surgery Friday on his pelvis.
BFI and Denver authorities believe Finley was seeking shelter after
temperatures dropped considerably on Tuesday. Dumpsters are a common
refuge for the homeless in cold weather.
Dumpsters without packers have lids that open easily -- people sleeping
inside them often hear the trash truck and get out in time, said Dan
Kirkpatrick district vice president for BFI.
Occasionally the homeless are tossed inside a dumpster by a truck, but
"not usually where a person gets hurt like this," Kirkpatrick said.
"During all the 29 years I've worked for BFI, I have never seen a
person in a packer," said the father of three who plans to visit
Finley.
The Rev. Ed Judy of Samaritan House, which helps the homeless, said
people who sleep alone in dumpsters often are mentally ill and refuse
to be around others, or aren't accepted at shelters because of
inappropriate behavior.
"I would say it's sad that a person comes to a point where they sleep
in a dumpster for whatever reason," Judy said. "Every human being is a
person of dignity even if they themselves might not recognize it. It's
not good for us to just kind of hear about it and move on and forget
about it."
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>
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