KALAMAZOO, MI — The driver of a garbage truck heard screams coming from the back of his truck Monday morning and immediately called Kalamazoo police to report the incident.

Fortunately the driver had not yet compressed the garbage prior to hearing the screams, which likely saved the man from serious injury or death, police said.

Apparently, according to police, the trapped man had been sleeping in a dumpster and failed to get out in time when it was being emptied into the garbage truck.

Officers responded to the scene at 4:45 a.m. Nov. 4 in the 1200 block of Portage Street, where they made contact with the driver and the victim, according to a news release from Kalamazoo Public Safety.

Kalamazoo’s Technical Rescue Team was then able to gain access to the trapped man by using ladders to climb down into the body of the truck from the top of the container, police said. The man was then assisted out of the confines of the truck and lowered to medical personnel by rope from the top of the truck.

The man was transported to a local hospital with minor wounds.

The total operation took approximately 90 minutes to safely extricate the man from the truck, police said.

This was the first activation of the Kalamazoo Technical Rescue Team, which has been in operation for approximately one year, the release states.

The team, consisting of 21 members of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is trained in rope, confined space, trench, and collapse-rescue operations and is part of the Michigan 5th District Technical Rescue Team.