A man in Jackson, , was miraculously rescued after becoming trapped inside a garbage truck into which he was dumped by mistake.

Bob Rutherford suffered a broken leg and hip during the scary ordeal, but has been recovering nicely at a local hospital.

Rutherford says he was searching for cardboard when he saw two 'refrigerator-size' boxes in a dumpster.

'I was going to take one of those and take it back to my home base,' he told local station.

While attempting to grab the cardboard box out of the dumpster, Rutherford became trapped in the receptacle.

Bob Rutherford, of Jackson, Mississippi, recounted his near-death experience after becoming trapped in a garbage truck that began to crush him

Miraculously, the truck driver noticed Rutherford was in the back of the truck and pulled over immediately 

'The next thing I knew, I'm in the bottom of a garbage truck,' he recounted.

'I got dumped on my head and I'm lying there flat on my back, and I've got so much on I can't get myself up. With garbage, there's oil, water, so it's going to be slick and slippery.

'

Next came the moment that could have spelled the end for Rutherford.

'I heard this chi-chink. I hear a motor going, and all of a sudden, here comes the blade,' he described.

'The stuff starts pushing up against me, and the blade moves closer and folds me up like a pretzel. At that point, I knew I was dead, and my leg pops.'

Rutherford says he then began screaming in a desperate attempt to get the truck driver's attention. 

'Hey, hey, hey - I'm in here in the back of the truck,' he shouted to the driver, adding that he was also trying to move around and free himself from his dangerous confinement.

Thankfully, the driver eventually heard the banging and saw Rutherford on a rear-facing camera.

The truck immediately pulled over to a convenience store on the side of the highway, and firefighters were called to the shop to begin their rescue effort.

Rutherford was methodically lifted from the back of the truck and placed on a stretcher before being taken to the hospital.

Firefighters worked to methodically remove Rutherford from the truck

The man was removed and taken to a local hospital where he's being treated for his injuries

Rutherford says he believes he survived for a purpose, which is to spread a message of hope and belief in miracles

As he recovers, he says the staff at the hospital 'have been real good,' and have provided him with 'new clothes and shoes and stuff.'

Rutherford says he's grateful to be alive and that every day since the accident 'has felt like Christmas.'

He shared that a message written on a copper necklace helped him make it through the experience.

'This copper necklace, one side had marks and the other side said, "Believe." I thought to myself, "Believe," and it clicked,' he shared.

He says he believes he survived for a purpose, which is to spread a message of hope and belief in miracles.