Prankster Boy Nearly Crushed in Garbage Truck

July 13, 2005 -- -- A 4-year-old Kenosha, Wis., boy whose mother says is a bit mischievous was almost crushed to death in the back of a garbage truck.

For some reason, Jake Deates decided Monday to get into an old duffle bag his mother had put out in the trash -- just as the garbage truck was coming down the street to make its pick-ups.

The garbage man, Inis Ramadani, tossed the Deates' trash into the truck's hopper, throwing in the duffle bag with its precious contents last.

"That was the last thing that I picked up -- this duffle bag. It was all covered in blankets. I grabbed and it I threw it," Ramadani said.

The little boy felt himself being lifted, but he didn't imagine what was coming.

"Thought my mom was picking me up, but it was the garbage man," Jake said.

Ramadani started the compactor, but over the roar of the motor and the crushing of the garbage he heard something that sent a chill up his spine.

"I heard like a screaming voice, crying, you know. 'Ahhh,' like that, but I couldn't hear it too good," Ramadani said. "I looked around and right away went into my mind, 'Stop the hopper.'"

He shut off the compactor and frantically dug through the garbage until he found Jake still hiding in the bag.

"He would have been crushed to death, suffocated and taken to a landfill," Ramadani said.

The little boy, whose mother says has always had a fascination with garbage trucks, realized he'd gotten too close this time.

"It's a good thing I screamed," said Jake, who was uninjured in the incident.

His mother, Jennifer Deates, said she was in the house when it all happened. She had been watching out the window, but didn't see him get in the duffle bag.

"Horrified. I was horrified and, obviously, he was scared to death too," Deates said.

As for Ramadani, a father of three, including a 3-year-old girl, said he is glad for his quick thinking.

"I'm happy that we saved a boy's life, you know," Ramadani said.

Deates, who said she won't let Jake out her sight again, said she doesn't know how to thank Ramadani.

"A little life, you can't put a price on that," Deates said.

ABC News affiliate WISN-TV in Milwaukee contributed to this report.