PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — An Ohio woman died Saturday after being “crushed” by an ambulance leaving an apartment complex in a western suburb of Cleveland, authorities said.
According to Parma Heights Police Department spokesperson Det. Adam Sloan, officers and paramedics responded to an apartment complex at about 9 p.m. EDT, WOIO-TV reported.
A neighbor had called to request a welfare check on a 68-year-old woman at the complex, according to WJW-TV.
Parma Heights police say that "there is no indication any members of the Parma Heights Fire Department were acting in a reckless and/or negligent manner." https://t.co/8r7QdhJqGm
— WKYC 3News (@wkyc) June 18, 2023
Police made a forced entry into the apartment, where the woman was found conscious and breathing, WKYC-TV reported. She reportedly refused treatment and transportation to an area hospital for further evaluation, according to the television station.
After paramedics left the building, witnesses told police that the woman got onto the elevator and went outside. She allegedly walked up to the passenger side of the ambulance and fell down, WOIO reported.
Sloan said the paramedics were unaware the woman was trying to make contact with them and pulled away. The woman was crushed by the vehicle.
“While outside, she went to the passenger side of the ambulance where she then fell and was crushed by the ambulance as it was pulling away,” Sloan wrote in a news release obtained by WKYC. “Paramedics were unaware the female had even come outside and it is unknown why she was trying to make contact with them.”
The woman died at the scene, WJW reported. She has not been identified.
Sloan said there is no indication of recklessness or negligence from the paramedics, WOIO reported.
The Cuyahoga Medical Examiner’s Office, Parma Heights Police Department Detective Bureau and the Southwest Accident Group are investigating the incident.
