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Pa. first responders rescue woman trapped inside trash truck

Allentown fire and EMS personnel extricated a woman after the receptacle she was reportedly in was emptied into a trash truck

By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann
The Express-Times

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown firefighters rescued a woman trapped inside a trash truck Monday, a fire official said.

Allentown Deputy Fire Chief Christian P. Williams said the incident unfolded just before 4:15 a.m. at Second and West Hamilton Streets. Emergency responders were called to the scene, but it’s unclear who notified them.

Witnesses told responders the woman was initially inside a trash receptacle and became trapped when the trash was emptied into the truck, Williams said.

Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel “worked urgently” to extricate the woman from the truck, Williams said.

The rescue operation was successfully completed just before 5 a.m. Monday, he said.

The woman was injured in the incident and taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township. Injuries did not appear life-threatening, Williams said.

A news release by the Allentown Fire Department did not specify how the woman ended up in the trash receptacle. Allentown Police Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Becker told lehighvalleylive.com no other details at this time are being provided.

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