Updated Tuesday, Dec. 3

A sleeping homeless man was run over by a recycling truck near the Eastbank Esplanade in Southeast Portland early Monday, according to a witness. The man appeared to have non-life-threatening injuries.

A driver with waste management company Recology drove over the man on a pedestrian pathway under Interstate 5 near Southeast Water Avenue and Salmon Street before 5 a.m., said Murphy Jones. He said the male driver didn’t appear to know initially that he hit anyone until one of Jones’ friends stood in front of the truck to stop the worker from leaving.

“We saw the truck zooming by and then we heard screaming,” Jones said. “The driver never got out of the truck, never checked on the person and he drove off after the cops were done talking to him.”

Jones said he streamed video of the aftermath on Facebook because he feared the driver would leave before police arrived. He said he later called 911 and put a blanket over the man until emergency responders arrived.

A witness said a man was hit by a recycling truck while sleeping on a pedestrian walkway near the Eastbank Esplanade in Southeast Portland on Dec. 2. (Courtesy of Murphy Jones)

Portland Police Bureau spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Allen said the man was taken to the hospital after the driver drove over his legs as he was sleeping under a tarp around 4:05 a.m. The incident is still under investigation and no citations have been issued, Allen said. The injured man’s status is unclear as of Monday evening.

Police later said in a news release that the driver emptied a dumpster into his truck and backed up over the man while pulling away. The driver was aware of the tarp but didn’t know anyone was under it, police said.

Charlie Fields, a Recology account manager in Portland, declined to comment.

Jones said he didn’t know the injured man but had seen him before in soup kitchens in the area. Jones, who is also homeless, said he got into an argument with the driver because it didn’t appear that he was calling 911.

“He’s yelling, ‘Why is he sleeping there?’ and I’m yelling back ‘It’s irrelevant. You hit him and you should have been watching where you’re going,’” Jones said.

Jones said the injured man was sleeping near his belongings. He added that the man’s items, including his light blue tarp, remained on the ground near the esplanade as of Monday afternoon.

Police said several possible witnesses left before talking to officers. They encourage anyone who saw the crash and hasn’t yet talked to officers to call 503-823-3333 and make a report referencing case No. 19-412683.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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Update includes information from a Portland Police Bureau news release.