Associated Press
Copyright 2007 Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — An investigator for the medical examiner's office arrived at a traffic accident to examine the victim's body and made a startling discovery: the woman wasn't dead.

Trapped in a crumbled car early Sunday, the woman was draped in a yellow sheet, the typical procedure when someone is killed.

But "on arrival, the medical examiner's investigator noted the victim appeared to be breathing and was trapped in the vehicle," said a statement issued by the Bexar County medical examiner's office. "EMS was called to the scene and took charge of the victim."

Erica Nicole Smith, 23, was taken to the hospital in critical condition Sunday.

She was the front passenger in a Honda Accord with two other people, when the Accord was struck by a vehicle that crossed the Loop 410 median and slammed into the Accord head-on.

The driver of that vehicle, Jenny Ann Ybarra, 28, was charged with intoxication assault, said police spokesman Joe Rios.

The driver of the Accord and the other passenger were treated and released from the hospital.

Rios would not comment on the apparent mistake involving Smith.

Randy Jenkins, the spokesman for Emergency Medical Services, said Sunday the incident is "under review." He did not immediately return a message left Monday morning.