Wichita woman nearly crushed in garbage truck

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita fire officials say a woman is lucky to be alive after she was nearly crushed in a garbage truck.

Battalion Chief Frank Buck says the woman crawled into a trash bin while looking for scrap metal early Thursday.

Jeff Gillis, the Waste Management driver, told KFDI that he emptied the trash receptacle into his truck and was preparing to press a button to compact the garbage when the woman's sister drove up and stopped him. When the driver turned off the engine, he and his sister could hear the woman's screams.

Firefighters were called to rescue the woman and had to dig through the debris by hand to reach her.

The woman was taken to a hospital but firefighters said she wasn't seriously hurt.