Woman Crushed To Death In Freak Accident After Becoming Trapped In A Garage Door

Tragedy strikes in Cambridge, which is located in England, after a woman was crushed to death in a freak accident involving a garage door, according to the Mirror.

At around 7:25 p.m. Sunday, August 14, emergency services arrived at the Ruth Bagnall Court on Coleridge Road after receiving a call about an unresponsive woman, whose name has not been released, believed to be between the ages of 30 and 40.

The emergency crew attempted to save the woman, who was found hanging from a garage door, but “there was nothing they could do.”

Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

It was later uncovered that the woman was not a resident in the building, but she was visiting a friend when the freak accident occurred.

It was not immediately clear if she was leaving the four-story building, which has 72 units and was built in 2004, or entering, but reports indicate that she was having difficulties with the automatic door at the private parking garage, which is located underground.

The garage door apparently malfunctioned and crushed the woman to death as she was unable to escape to safety.

Neighbors heard the woman’s friend screaming after finding her lifeless body hanging several feet off the ground in the parking garage.

An unnamed woman, who lives in the area, told reporters that she “came outside because I saw the woman crying. I said ‘what’s the matter?’ and she said something had happened and she needed help.”

“I went to look in the garage and saw her legs hanging. It was not a sight to want to remember. It was horrific and I’m doing my best to forget it.”

Several residents claim that although the woman’s garage door death was a tragic accident, they stated that they weren’t at all shocked by the garage door malfunctioning.

It was stated that the housing company called Luminus, whose staff were at the scene within 30 minutes after it was reported to police, was a bit “slow at fixing problems” in the building, according to the Cambridge News.

“I have lived here for five years and that door is always breaking. There is an automatic key fob that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t,” said a resident, who asked to remain anonymous.

“I don’t know how she got into trouble but the door is automatic and is supposed to stop when it catches on something for safety purposes.”

Another resident said, “I’ve been here for three years and there’s always problems.

“The garage door to the car parking is always breaking, so are the doors to the block of flats and people are always stealing bikes.”

Can't believe this happened at the flat last night ??? https://t.co/zn9p9FLpgz

— Becca (@beccahazeldine) August 15, 2016

Several residents in the building heard the incident and believed “it was an explosion.” However, when they rushed outside to see what transpired, that’s when they saw the woman hanging from the garage door.

“There’s a manual switch to open the gate on the inside and my boyfriend thinks that she must have put her hand through to push it and got in trouble,” said a resident. “He doesn’t see how it’s possible though because he’s tried to do it before and he’s got long arms and he still didn’t manage.”

“Maybe there was someone coming out at the same time and the gate opened and trapped her.”

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said, “The incident has been referred to the Health and Safety Executive.”

Reporters reached out to the housing company that manages the building for a comment but their staff has stated that “while the investigation by the Police and Health and Safety Executive is underway, it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

“Luminus Group wishes to express its deepest sympathies to the family of the person who sadly died yesterday.”

[Image via Wikipedia]