Victoria Police have confirmed that a man has been found deceased after an accident involving a garbage truck from Waste Connections Canada near the Moxie’s restaurant on Yates and Vancouver.
The man was apparently sleeping in the dumpster near the Conservatory of Music, when the bin was picked up and dumped. The driver did not become aware of the man until about a block later, behind the Moxie’s restaurant.
“That bin was dumped into the main garbage truck, which then crushed the material inside, not realizing the male was there,” said Victoria Police Department Sgt. Ryan O’Neill.
“Information came up, probably because the male was making noise, and they realized that someone was in the truck. They stopped immediately, called 911 and police, fire and paramedics attended. Despite all efforts to save this male, he succumbed to his injuries.”
The incident happened around 6:10 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Heartbreaking 🙁 https://t.co/eYSCODlRp0
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O’Neill noted that this wasn’t the first time a similar incidence happened, and said that a year-and-a-half ago a male was caught in a garbage disposal vehicle, but was rescued with light injuries.
“It’s sad to lose a local person like this,” O’Neill said. “I’m sure there will be discussions down the road about what could have been done to prevent something like this from happening in the future.”
Investigators have since identified the man, but his next of kin have not been notified.
–With files from Ragnar Haagen
