An Illinois man was found crushed dead inside a garbage truck Thursday morning and police believe he was homeless, sheltering in a dumpster before the tragedy.
58-year-old Lee Roy Stewart was crushed by the truck’s compactor that put on over 80 tons of combined pressure on his body, killing him.
His remains were discovered at around 10:15 a.m. Thursday when the garbage truck reached its firm transfer station.
“Stewart died of crushing injuries consistent with the equipment used to transport garbage,” Coroner Jim Allmon said.
“His injuries show he was alive when the injuries were sustained. It sounds terrible, but we don’t think anybody put him there.”
The coroner added that toxicology tests were conducted to determine whether Stewart was intoxicated before climbing into the doomed dumpster, as surveillance cameras showed.
