Robert Baswell Lucky to Be Alive

Robert was trying to get a little bit of shut eye Sunday night when he almost was crushed to death. Baswell is homeless and his choice of a bed that night because of the rain was a dumpster.

Mr. Baswell, 44, was asleep when the dumpster started being emptied into a trash truck. Dropped from his dirty bed Robert began a fight for his very life. The load of the trash was crushed against his body at least seven times before anyone heard his frantic screams for help. At one point Robert used a dead opossum to shield himself from the blow of the truck's compressor. Firefighters spent almost thirty minutes, sorting by hand the trash that was crushing him, before the man was freed.

"I want to find this gentleman and have him buy my lottery tickets because he is one lucky dude," said West Palm Beach Fire Rescue spokesman Phil Kaplan.

In the end Robert came out alive, but injured. He now has two broken legs and broken ribs. But he's lucky to be alive.

"I'm so happy to be here, as bad as I'm hurt," he said.