Missing teen found alive after being dumped into DeKalb garbage truck

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — They may not be police officers, firefighters or paramedics, but three DeKalb sanitation workers gave public service a whole new meaning.

The sanitation workers saved a little girl’s life when they spotted her inside a trash bin, just moments before she could have been crushed.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was in DeKalb County where it happened.

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The workers were startled when they first saw the little girl.

When Zahmontay Cherry, Richard Jones and Peter Williams showed up to the job on Oct. 4, they thought it was just a regular day.

But when they scooped up a trash can in the 6700 block of Old Covington Road in Stonecrest, the bin felt heavier than the rest.

“I dumped it and a body came out. I went to the driver and I’m like, ‘Man, there’s a dead body back there,’” Cherry said.

“I saw her come out – he (Cherry) didn’t really react until I reacted. I was like ‘Whoa.’ I backed up (and) I noticed there was a little girl back there,” Jones said.

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The little girl had been missing for three days.

If these workers didn’t notice her when they did, she probably wouldn’t be alive today.

“So, once they brought it to my attention I initially shut off the truck because once I stepped on the gas, it would’ve automatically crushed her,” Williams said.

In this case, these three men were front-line workers, even first responders for this little girl.

They’ll never forget this day or that little girl.

“It just really feels good that we was the ones that saved her,” Zahmontay Cherry said.

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“We’re just glad that the situation wasn’t too crazy. Everybody was safe and sound, and that’s the most important part of this whole situation. We’re just glad the little girl got back to her family, and everything is straight,” Cherry said.

The three men were given a certificate of appreciation by DeKalb County Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson on Tuesday morning.

“Without the attention and dedication of these employees, there is no doubt great harm, if not death, would have been imminent,” the department said.

The workers said they are humbled by all of the recognition they received. If you see them, tell them “thank you.”

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