A man found trapped in a garbage truck in Allentown Friday morning has died.
The Lehigh County Coroner said the unidentified 53-year-old man was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital following massive crushing injuries.
Trash haulers found the homeless man stuck in a garbage truck around 6 a.m.
According to officials, the Waste Management driver heard the man screaming from the back of the truck while driving in the 600 block of Court Street.
"The garbage truck driver was doing his morning rounds and when he got out of the vehicle to position the dumpsters for pickup, he could hear some yelling and screaming from inside," said Captain John Christopher, with the Allentown Fire Department.
When the driver walked behind the vehicle, he saw the man's hand and called 911, officials said.
Firefighters removed the injured man from the truck, where he'd been covered in garbage and crushed. They tell 69 News he'd suffered serious leg injuries in the incident.
According to officials, the man was likely sleeping inside a dumpster in the 700 block of Hamilton Street when the unit was lifted into the truck, with him in it.
"We know in the winter months they're used as temporary shelters and again we've had incidents," said Captain Christopher.
The dumpster is not far from the PPL Center, and inside the Neighborhood Improvement Zone.
Workers there tell 69 News it's not uncommon for homeless people to hang around the area.
"In center city, yeah, there's definitely a lot of homeless people," said Shania Justiniano.
"On benches, around dumpsters, in between dumpsters. Maybe they're sleeping inside," said Ana Meza.
A spokesperson for the PPL Center said its security team has not had any issues with homeless people hanging around the building or its dumpsters.
The coroner is waiting to contact the victim's family before releasing his name.
But friends and acquaintances of the man described him as "happy-go-lucky," with a quirky sense of humor..
They tell us he had been on and off the streets for a few years.
" I don't think some of them take the opportunity to go to the shelter, because then we would see less of them," Justiniano said.
"Maybe they feel ashamed," Meza said. "They'd rather not go and just sleep on the street."
The Lehigh Conference of Churches said there's no reason for anyone to be out on the street, or in dumpsters, because there are three shelters in the downtown.
On average, 40 to 50 people sleep at the Alliance Hall Shelter on 6th Street each night.
The homeless can also stay at the Rescue Mission or Salvation Army shelter.
A representative of the Lehigh Conference of Churches said the only way to effectively solve the homelessness problem in the city is to create more affordable housing opportunities for the low-income.
UPDATE: Lehigh County coroner Scott Grim has identified the man as 53-year-old Tony Lee Graham. The manner of death has been ruled an accident.
The Lehigh County coroner's office also says it is searching for Graham's next of kin. Anyone with information is asked to call the coroner's office at 610-782-3426.
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