WEST NYACK, N.Y. (AP) – A man who was burned and knocked unconscious when a ½-ton load of mulch was dropped on him has died of his injuries, police said Wednesday.

Simon Chang, 38, of New City, suffered third-degree burns over half his body and was buried alive in the bed of his 18-wheel truck when a front-loader at a Clarkstown landfill dumped its load into the truck on Tuesday morning. He died overnight at Westchester Medical Center, said Clarkstown police Sgt. Alan Armstrong.

Leafy mulch heats up as bacteria turn it into compost, and the core temperature of the mulch that fell on Chang was 150 degrees, Clarkstown Detective Gerard King said.

Investigators said Chang may have been spreading a tarp on the truck bed when he was buried.

When town employees realized the driver was missing, they dug into the mulch and found Chang unconscious.