Garbage truck crushes homeless man's legs after night in dumpster

A Brownsville man is recovering at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville after having been crushed by a trash compactor Wednesday.
Raul Jimenez Jr., 43, was sleeping inside a trash container on the 1000 block of Adams Street, according to police.

"He is a homeless man and usually sleeps in park benches," Police Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique said. "However, because of the cold weather/">weather, he was seeking shelter and he found a trash dumpster filled with ropa usada (used clothes) and covered himself with them."

At 5:30 a.m., a Waste Management truck pulled up to the dumpster and the driver got out to check the dumpster, police said. The driver did not see Jimenez because he was covered in clothes, and the dumpster was emptied into the truck.

The driver began compacting the trash as he drove away.

Manrrique said that Jimenez began screaming as his legs were being crushed by the trash compactor. However it wasn't until the driver reached the 700 block of East Elizabeth that he heard him and contacted 9-1-1.

Jimenez was transported to VBMC, was undergoing surgery Wednesday. The homeless man is expected to make a full recovery, Manrrique said.

The sergeant warns residents against using trash dumpsters as shelters against the cold.

"Dumpsters are not shelters," Manrrique said. "It's obvious that they are not a safe place to get in to, much less sleep in. There are shelters in the city, but Jimenez chose not to use them."

People seeking shelter can stay at the OSNAM Center at 656 Minnesota St. in Brownsville.