Woman Survives 3 Days In Recycle Bin

[blondebaby589]

Posted: 3/5/09 at 9:35am

http://wcbstv.com/local/woman.in.recycle.2.950626.html

An elderly New Jersey woman is grateful to be alive after getting stuck in a recycling bin for nearly three days. And she has a concerned neighbor to thank for saving her life.

A plastic bucket almost became a deathtrap for 76-year-old Mary Davis.

The incident began Sunday when Davis apparently tripped and fell into the bucket -- back-side first -- inside the garage of her Pemberton Township home. She spoke about the ordeal from her hospital bed.

"I got bruises all over me trying to get out of the can," Davis said. "I couldn't move my legs or my arms."

Her neighbor and good friend Michelle Ayala called police after not seeing Davis for the past few days. She was with police when they went inside Davis ' garage early Tuesday morning and found her found stuck in the still-upright bucket.

"I turned and I looked and I just saw these feet and at that point, I kind of moved closer and they looked up and she was like 'I'm here,'" Ayala said.

Police said Davis is only alive because she owns a dog. She keeps the cocker spaniel in the garage, using a space heater to keep him warm, and they said that same heater allowed her to survive the three cold nights. Davis said she knows her ordeal could have ended differently.

"I could have died you know?" she said. "I am just thankful that I am still living."

And as Davis recovers, her neighbor said she is still shaken by the ordeal.

"It was a horrifying site. Nothing I would've ever seen outside a horror movie," Ayala said.

David is in good condition at Virtua Memorial Hospital.