Michigan woman is killed after being crushed at an Indiana tollbooth when she got out of her car

Crushed to death at tollbooth: Driver, 40, is killed when she got out of her car after dropping her debit card and her SUV lurched forward pinning her against the gate

  • Luciana Ortiz, 40, of Otsego, Michigan, died Wednesday, four days after she was injured after dropping her debit card while trying to pay at a tollbooth
  • Indiana state trooper Alaa Hamed initially rescued her after she became pinned between her vehicle and a tollbooth and had to be resuscitated
  • Ortiz had stepped out from her SUV to retrieve a debit card she dropped  
  • The car lurched forward and pinned her against the booth, crushing her 

Luciana Ortiz of Otsego, Michigan, died Wednesday, four days after she was injured after dropping her debit card while trying to pay at a tollbooth

A Michigan woman who was crushed by her own car at a tollbooth along an Indiana road has died from her injuries.

State Police say 40-year-old Luciana Ortiz of Otsego, Michigan, died on Wednesday, four days after she was injured after dropping her debit card while trying to pay at a tollbooth in Hammond near the Indiana-Illinois state line.

The tragedy occurred when Ortiz opened up her door to pick up her card from the ground. As she did so, she stuck a leg outside her SUV when it suddenly lurched forward.

Her vehicle continued moving, slowly wedging Ortiz against a tollgate until she lost consciousness according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

State Trooper Alaa Hamed found Ortiz and moved the SUV to free her with the help of a toll attendant and bystander. and she was airlifted to a suburban Chicago hospital. 

The incident happened  on the Indiana Toll Road west bound at the one mile marker, about one mile east of the Illinois - Indiana border

The incident happened  on the Indiana Toll Road west bound at the one mile marker, about one mile east of the Illinois – Indiana border

An autopsy to determine her cause of death scheduled for Saturday showed she died of complications of mechanical asphyxiation from being pinned, according to the medical examiner’s office

An autopsy to determine her cause of death scheduled for Saturday showed she died of complications of mechanical asphyxiation from being pinned, according to the medical examiner’s office

The defibrillator Hamed carries in his car found no pulse, so Hamed began CPR until medics arrived. 

They used the defibrillator and it revived her. Ortiz was airlifted to a Chicago hospital with serious injuries and later died.  

Police said: ‘As the woman began searching for the debit card, she put her leg out between her car and the toll booth, and the Buick lurched forward. 

‘The woman became wedged between the open car door and the yellow waist-high toll box the toll gate is mounted to. 

‘A witness pushed the help button at the toll gate and tried to open the passenger door, but it was locked. 

Ortiz had stepped out from her SUV to retrieve a debit card she dropped.  The car lurched forward and pinned her against the booth crushing her

Ortiz had stepped out from her SUV to retrieve a debit card she dropped.  The car lurched forward and pinned her against the booth crushing her

State Trooper Alaa Hamed found the woman and moved the SUV to free her before performing CPR on her 

State Trooper Alaa Hamed found the woman and moved the SUV to free her before performing CPR on her 

‘The woman at this time was awake and speaking, but the car moved forward two more times, each time wedging her further into the box,’  a news release stated.

The witness and another male were able to get the passenger window down and place the Buick in park, when shortly thereafter Hamed and a toll attendant arrived.

The police statement added: ‘An AED is a portable Automated External Defibrillator used to start someone’s heart in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. 

‘Most victims need an electronic shock called defibrillation to restore the heart to a regular rhythm. 

‘By placing these devices in the hands of first responders and trained individuals in public locations we increase their chance of survival’. 

An autopsy to determine  Ortiz’s cause of death scheduled for Saturday showed she died of complications of mechanical asphyxiation from being pinned, according to the medical examiner’s office. 



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk