Teen Killed After Industrial Dumpster He Was Sleeping In Empties Into Garbage Truck

A South Australian teenager, who was sleeping inside an industrial bin, was killed after it was emptied by a garbage truck early Tuesday morning.

The tragic incident took place in Port Lincoln when three boys, aged 11, 12, and 13, were fast asleep inside the dumpster. The 13-year-old boy died when a garbage truck emptied the bin during routine collection, Perth Now reported, citing police.

The younger boys jumped out of the dumpster in the nick of time while the 13-year-old remained trapped. The 12-year-old boy kept banging on the cabin door of the garbage truck to alert the driver, but it was too late to stop the overturn, according to Perth Now.

The teen sustained severe injuries in the skip tipping and died at the scene. The police spoke to the surviving boys who were traumatized. The authorities said the boys weren’t homeless, but the former couldn’t comprehend why they were sleeping inside the bin.

The identities of the teenagers involved in the tragic accident weren’t revealed by the police.

"It’s tragic across a whole number of levels," Busselton Mail quoted Superintendent Paul Bahr, as saying. "And that's just one of the levels of the tragedy of this as to why these three children thought they needed to be sleeping in the bin. On what was a pretty cold and wet night, too. It wasn't a good night to be sleeping outdoors."

"It's fair to say that the boys had somewhere to stay," Bahr said, according to Busselton Mail. "I don't think it'd be fair to classify them as homeless."

"This is devastating news for the community and those family and friends who are directly impacted," Busselton Mail quoted Post Lincoln Mayor Brad Flaherty, as saying.

The truck driver, who wasn’t aware of the boys’ presence inside the truck, was devastated. He was taken to a hospital for psychological counseling.