The woman was in a dumpster near the fast-casual seafood restaurant Captain D's around noon Thursday when a garbage truck emptied the container along with the woman in Bainbridge, southwest Georgia, Bainbridge Public Safety Director Redell Walton told USA TODAY Friday.

Fortunately, the truck's driver did not immediately turn on the trash compactor, but instead drove the vehicle to another dumpster a few feet away, Walton said. While the driver was emptying the second dumpster, employees of a nearby store who had seen the woman fall into the garbage truck ran after the truck and managed to stop it from operating. The employees also called 911.

When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, they could hear someone “screaming and yelling” from inside the truck, Walton said.