A Lawrence trash hauler was critically injured Monday morning when a car struck him.
Jim Combest, 52, was standing behind a rear-loading garbage truck, which was stopped in the 4800 block of West 24th Street, when a vehicle knocked him down and pinned him underneath the garbage truck, Lawrence Police Sgt. Mike Pattrick said.
The accident occurred about 6:45 a.m. Combest and another employee had been loading yard waste into the back of the truck when Combest was hit by an eastbound white 1985 Ford Crown Victoria driven by Cassandra Glinski, 16, of Lawrence, Pattrick said.
Combest told police he didn't see or hear Glinski's vehicle before he was hit. The second employee avoided being hit by jumping out of the way just before the collision, Pattrick said.
Combest, who police said suffered a broken left leg, was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and then flown to Kansas University Medical Center, in Kansas City, Kan., where he underwent several hours of surgery. He was listed in stable condition late Monday.
Police were investigating the crash, but it wasn't clear what had prevented Glinski from stopping, Pattrick said.
Glinski, the only occupant of her vehicle, wasn't wearing a seat belt, according to police. She was not injured, and her rate of speed was unknown, Pattrick said.
Police hadn't issued any citations in the accident.
Combest was one of a three-person crew. He and another man rode on the back of the garbage truck while another man drove through the residential area, said Jennifer Chaney, risk manager for the city. Chaney handles worker's compensation claims and accidents involving city vehicles and property.
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