Can-do woman survives trashy ordeal

Boston Herald ^ | 17 June 2005 | Norman Miller

[Radix]

 FRAMINGHAM - Wendy Cobb narrowly avoided the fate of the aluminum cans she was collecting Tuesday when she escaped from a trash compactor seconds before it would have crushed her.
     Cobb was Dumpster-diving for cans when a garbage truck came along to make a pickup. She said she didn't hear it coming, and didn't know what was happening until she was tumbling along with the trash into the compactor.
     ``I thought I was dead . . . I came inches away from having no life,'' said Cobb, 38. ``I was yelling, kicking, screaming, doing everything I could to get the driver's attention. I was screaming, `Help me, help me.' There wasn't anything I could do.''
      Cobb was left with a severely sprained ankle and bruises, but said she was just thankful to be alive.
     ``Obviously, she should not have been in the Dumpster,'' police Lt. Vincent Alfano said. ``There is a caution sign posted. It says, `Do not play on, around or occupy this container for any purpose.' ''
     Driver Michael J. Marotta was about to press the button when a frantic Jimmy Pennett of Ashland ran up and stopped him.
     ``I heard someone screaming,'' Pennett said. ``I told him someone was in the truck, and he said, `No way. Are you kidding me? I don't want to even look.' ''

[Radix]

Can Do!

[Millee]

Glad she's ok. Be horrible if your coffin is a manila envelope.

[FoxInSocks]

"No way. Are you kidding me?"

What else could you say in a situation like that? heehee

Nice headline, too.

[Sacajaweau]

She didn't hear the truck....Hell, I can hear mine WITH THE WINDOWS CLOSED....and it's about 800 feet away.Wonder if Jimmy Pennett is her boyfriend or buddy....

[afraidfortherepublic]

Does she do this for a living?

[freedom4ever]

I went to the dumpster a few years ago and threw in a bag of trash. I heard a yell and out popped and up popped a guy, then his wife, then his two kids. Half the dumpster had a tarp over it and the kids were up under the tarp crawling around. I couldn't believe it.