Man crushed to death in waste truck

Gardaí are trying to track down the English family of a homeless man crushed to death in a freak accident after taking shelter in a bin.

Detectives believe the man in his mid-30s was unwittingly emptied alive into a waste truck and killed by a compactor during a rubbish collection in Limerick city.

Workers at a recycling depot outside the city sifting through waste made the grim discovery around lunchtime yesterday and immediately alerted gardaí.

“Basically the preliminary findings suggest that he died from crush injuries,” said Superintendent Frank O’Brien, of Roxboro Road Garda Station in Limerick City.

Investigating officers believe the man had only come to the city at the weekend and had been sleeping rough in a large industrial wheelie bin for the night.

“We have a reasonable belief in his identity but we’re not disclosing it at the moment,” said Supt O’Brien.

“We are in touch with the British police with a view to establishing his identity conclusively.”

It is believed the man was originally from the south of England where he has family still living.

Although it’s understood he has been in Ireland for a number of years he wasn’t known to homeless charities and agencies in Limerick.

“It appears he has spent some time in the south of Ireland, in Cork, and maybe at times in Dublin and other locations,” Supt O’Brien said.

“But there isn’t any degree of certainty that he has been in Limerick for any length of time.”

Gardaí sealed off the privately-owned waste depot at Luddemore, near the village of Ballyneety, Co Limerick, when workers found the man’s remains.

There were three collections left at the rubbish bay at the facility, about 15 km outside Limerick city, yesterday – two from the city and one from south Tipperary.

Only the trucks on the city runs had compactors leading detectives to believe that the man was inadvertently scooped into a lorry there.

His body was taken to Dublin for a post-mortem examination by State Pathologist Marie Cassidy.

The initial findings suggest he was killed from injuries consistent with being crushed in the back of a rubbish lorry while he was still alive.

“It appears that it was a tragic accident,” said Supt O’Brien.

“But we are still pursuing this. We want to establish exactly what happened and the events leading up to his death.”

While gardaí are almost certain of the man’s identity they are working with British police, using fingerprints and dental records, to confirm it.