By Megan Sims
cleveland.com
PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio — A 68-year-old woman died after being crushed by an ambulance on Saturday night.
According to authorities, Parma Heights police were called to an apartment complex at the 10000 block of West Ridgewood Drive at 9 p.m. to do a wellness check after the elderly woman did not respond to the knocks from concerned neighbors.
After forcing entry into the apartment, police and the Parma Heights Fire Department found the woman to be conscious and alert. She declined to receive medical treatment on the scene or be taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.
After the woman signed a refusal form, paramedics and other personnel left the apartment building. Then for reasons unknown to authorities, a witness reportedly saw the woman getting onto an elevator and exiting the building. Officials said that paramedics were unaware of the woman trying to make contact with them at the passenger side of the ambulance.
The woman was crushed after falling when the ambulance pulled away.
She died of her injuries at the scene.
In a Sunday news release, authorities said they don’t believe that members of the Parma Heights Fire Department acted in a reckless and/or negligent manner.
The incident is currently under investigation by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Parma Heights Police Department Detective Bureau and the Southwest Accident Group (SWAG).
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