A 68-year-old woman from Parma Heights is dead after falling near a moving ambulance and was subsequently crushed by the ambulance as it pulled away, according to Parma Heights police.
Saturday night, around 9 p.m., Parma Heights Police were dispatched to the 10000 block of West Ridgewood Drive after receiving a call from a concerned neighbor who knocked on the 68-year-old woman's door and didn't receive an answer. When police arrived and did not receive a response, they forced entry into the woman's apartment.
The woman was found conscious and breathing. Officers requested assistance from the Parma Heights Fire Department to have the woman checked out. However, she refused treatment and signed a refusal of treatment.
According to police, after officers and paramedics left the woman's apartment, bystanders witnessed the woman get on the elevator and come outside of the building, going to the passenger side of the ambulance. She fell while on the passenger side of the ambulance and was crushed by the ambulance as it pulled away. She died from her injuries on the scene.
Paramedics were unaware that the woman was outside, and it is unknown why she was attempting to make contact with them, said police.
According to police, there is no indication of recklessness or negligence by the members of the Parma Heights Fire Department.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Parma Heights Police Department Detective Bureau and the Southwest Accident Group (SWAG) were called to the scene. The accident is currently under investigation.
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