Trash collector unloads his truck to find a man amid the refuse, Fresno police say

A garbage man made an unsettling discovery after he arrived at a Fresno recycling center before dawn Friday at the end of his trash-collection rounds. He had just dumped what appeared to be a bloodied body, police said.

The trash collector was further shocked to find that the man was still alive, according to Lt. Mark Hudson, a spokesman for the Fresno Police Department.

Authorities said he appeared to have fallen asleep in a trash bin that had been emptied. The garbage man told police the man, who was not identified, seemed to be under the influence of drugs when he was discovered.

Paramedics responded to the Cedar Avenue Recycling and Transfer Station to treat the man, who suffered minor injuries during the ordeal and was bleeding, Hudson said.

The man was picked up from a trash bin at a Clovis construction site and then hauled approximately 15 miles south to the Fresno site. Police think he woke up when he was dumped out of the garbage truck.

The man was treated at an area hospital and is expected to fully recover, Hudson said.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra