TAMPA — When you wake up trapped in the back of a garbage truck, it's a good time to review your decisions.

A man and a woman from Kissimmee learned that lesson the hard way early Wednesday morning. The pair had apparently fallen asleep in a commercial garbage bin outside a Wawa after spending time at the nearby Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Their luck? At least the bin was an early stop for the garbage truck driver, Radames Velazquez of Progressive Waste Solutions.

"If I was fully loaded, I probably would have crushed them today," Velazquez said at a news conference hours after his 5:02 a.m. call to 911 reporting screaming people in the back of the truck.

Velazquez, who has been driving a truck for nine years, said he had heard in training about people who sleep in bins. But at the Wawa on Hillsborough Avenue at Orient Road, he said he had looked in the bin and hadn't seen anything but cardboard. As he drove to his next pickup, he initiated the compactor blade to make room for more refuse. That's when Velazquez saw a man jumping up and down on the truck's closed-circuit television that monitors the compaction. He stopped the compactor, pulled over on U.S. 301 N near Interstate 75 and called 911.

"I got two people . . . stuck in the truck," Velazquez said in the call. "I almost killed both of them."

Responding deputies and emergency medical services personnel were able to rescue Donald Jordan, 37, and Lisa Sirabella, 49.

Sirabella was "screaming her head off" when Velazquez stopped the truck to call 911, he said. Jordan smelled of alcohol, slurred his speech and was aggressive toward the deputies, sheriff's officials said. Neither suffered visible injury, but both were transported to Tampa General Hospital with back pain.

Sirabella was admitted and was in fair condition Wednesday, hospital spokeswoman Ellen Fiss said. Jordan was treated and released.

Seminole Tribe police confirmed the pair had been in the casino earlier. A Wawa spokeswoman said the pair are not believed to have visited the store before climbing into the bin, which is inside a fenced corral outfitted with a latch and bolt.

Jordan and Sirabella both have extensive criminal histories. Jordan has been arrested 43 times since 1999 for charges relating to drugs, public drinking, disturbing the peace, burglary, battery and trespassing, according to state law enforcement records. He has served time in both Osceola County jail and state prison.

Sirabella has been arrested 22 times since 2000, records show. She has been convicted of battery, disorderly conduct and driving under the influence. She has served short sentences in jail.

Neither Jordan nor Sirabella could be reached. A man identifying himself as Jordan's father at Jordan's last known address declined to comment.

"It was originally believed that they were homeless," a Sheriff's Office report said, "but it seems they were just really intoxicated after hanging out at the casino."

Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 226-3446 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.