GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- A Henrico woman has been freed after she became trapped inside a trash compactor outside her Glen Allen apartment. The 71-year-old woman was last listed in stable condition at the hospital following her Tuesday night ordeal.
The call, from The Legends at Virginia Center complex on Centerway Drive and Virginia Center Parkway, came in around 7:50 p.m., Henrico County Fire spokesperson Capt. Rob Rowley said.
"All the efforts, for nearly two hours, were focused on getting the woman out," Rowley said.
Firefighters were able to free the woman's legs at about 9:30 p.m.
The woman, according to witnesses, dropped her keys in the trash compactor. She then stepped inside to retrieve the keys.
Fortunately, a friend of the victim saw the incident and pressed the emergency stop button on the trash compactor.
"You pull down the door and you pull the bag in or whatever you're putting in there, and that triggers the trash compactor to start compacting whatever is in there," neighbor Andrew Peachy said. "Luckily someone was there to pull the emergency stop for her, I hope she's okay."
The trash compactor outside of The Legends of Virginia Center
