“I Was Going To Be A Mashed Potato!” – 7-Year-Old Rescued From Garbage Truck

Eagle-eyed sanitation worker rescues young boy dumped into the back of a garbage truck while hiding in his grandmother's trash can. WFLA's Melissa Marino reports.

(NBC News) — A Florida sanitation worker is being called a hero after jumping into action to save a little boy from being crushed.

On Tuesday 7-year-old Elias Quezada climbed into a garbage can outside his Hillsborough County home.

Quezada was hiding when the Waste Connections truck scooped up the trash can and dumped it inside the garbage truck.

“In a minute he went out and the next thing I hear is the sound of the truck and a guy screaming,” his grandmother Carmen Salazar said.

“I got picked up and thrown, to where I was going to be a mashed potato,” Quezada said.

Luckily driver Waldo Fidele had his eyes on the surveillance camera, something he said he’s trained to do with every single can.

“Looking on camera, I see something drop,” Fidele said.

The quick-thinking driver jumped into action, shutting off the truck’s blade and calling 911.

Read more here.