Body found in tow yard is identified *merged threads"

[LinasK]

By Kenneth R. Weiss and Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
12:05 PM PST, December 17, 2007

The 72-year-old woman was from Paso Robles. She was discovered, dead, Sunday afternoon in a car that had been removed from the scene of a wreck that occurred Saturday morning.
An autopsy is underway today to determine the cause of death of a woman who was found in a crumpled car in a San Fernando Valley tow yard a day after paramedics had removed her son from the vehicle after a crash, authorities said.
Shirley Lee Williams, 72, of Paso Robles, had apparently been left in the car at the accident scene in Tarzana as her son was taken to a hospital, they said. Her name had been withheld until authorities could notify her son, who is still hospitalized.
On Sunday afternoon and evening, LAPD detectives and officials swarmed the vehicle lot at Howard Sommers Towing Inc., an official police impound and tow yard in Canoga Park, trying to determine how city paramedics and traffic officers had failed to spot the woman in the damaged vehicle.
About 10 a.m. Saturday, the vehicle, driven by Williams' son, hit a parked car in a bank parking lot and then crashed into the building at 19255 W. Ventura Blvd.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics removed the driver from the vehicle and took him to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, said spokesman Brian Humphrey. He did not release the driver's name, age or medical condition.[/color]
The car was then towed about seven miles to the impound yard, where it sat overnight. The city's Department of Building and Safety, meanwhile, was called in to check for structural damage at the bank after the car was pulled from the building.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities called the impound yard and asked an employee to look in the vehicle for anything unusual, a source said.
About 3:15 p.m., the Fire Department's emergency medical technicians were summoned by the towing yard, Humphrey said. "We had one person declared deceased at the scene...
more at link:http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-body18dec18,0,3895297.story?coll=la-home-local

 

[Taximom]

Wait, they left her in the car?! That's HORRIBLE.

 

[LinasK]

Wait, they left her in the car?! That's HORRIBLE.

Yup! Perhaps they could have saved her if they'd found her in time. That's why I thought it qualified as bizarre. Perhaps someone should be charged with a crime. Neglect?

 

[pixies]

Oh my God!
Keep us updated on this, if you can! This is crazy!

 

[MagicRose99]

Yup! Perhaps they could have saved her if they'd found her in time. That's why I thought it qualified as bizarre. Perhaps someone should be charged with a crime. Neglect?

That's supposition at this point. I vote we wait for the autopsy and the official investigation before condemning anyone...

 

[Taximom]

Someone left her in the car! That's neglect whether she died from the neglect or the accident.

At least they didn't take the car to the crusher right away.

 

[calidreamin]

My god how in the world did this happen? How did they not know that she was in the car? Horrible just horrible!

 

[nappy2]

What a bunch of dumb azzez how do you forget a body !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JBean]

In the news reports here, there was a severe accident and the son was taken away by ambulance. NO one knew that she was in the car and she was on the passenger floorboard underneath a deployed airbag. She was older and very small and frail. It wasn't until the family reported her missing and they started trying to put the puzzle together did they realize she was in the car.
The autopsy is expected to reveal if she was killed during the crash or died sometime during her stay at the towyard.

What bothers me more is why her son was asking all kinds of questions as to how she was after the crash? He was conscious and alert. This is the biogger mystery to me.

 

[JBean]

Woman found in tow yard died soon after crash, officials say

Authorities launched investigations Monday to determine whether rescuers properly assessed an accident scene where a 72-year-old woman was left inside a crumpled car that was towed to a police impound lot.

Shirley Lee Williams of Paso Robles, Calif., died within minutes after the car driven by her son plowed into a Tarzana office complex Saturday morning, according to a preliminary report by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.


The report did not address whether the woman could have been saved had paramedics quickly treated her.

The car, driven by Steven Williams, 48, also of Paso Robles, tore through the back of a stucco building and shattered wood supports and plaster. His mother was in the passenger seat. Her body, apparently hidden by an inflated air bag, was not discovered until Sunday, after relatives reported her missingThe car, driven by Steven Williams, 48, also of Paso Robles, tore through the back of a stucco building and shattered wood supports and plaster. His mother was in the passenger seat. Her body, apparently hidden by an inflated air bag, was not discovered until Sunday, after relatives reported her missing.

An autopsy conducted Monday listed Shirley Williams' manner of death as multiple force trauma, said Lt. Fred Corral of the coroner's investigations division. He described her injuries as consistent with those seen in traffic fatalities

"When questioned if anyone else was in the vehicle, the driver indicated there was no one else," Moore said. "He was conscious, he was breathing, and he was able to respond to questions."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printed...5455893.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

 

[Taximom]

So he didn't tell them she was in the car? Did he have a head injury and didn't know? I was rear-ended once and I was dizzy for months. (no comment!) Maybe he was physically ok but just wasn't thinking right?

This reminds me of a local case where EMS and LE left the car accident scene not realizing a young man had been tossed from the car. They took care of the other victim, but didn't find the other kid till parents were asking questions.

I can understand not finding someone that's been thrown from car, but someone should have thoroughly checked this car as much as possible. If the junkyard employee found her, LE/EMS should have been able to as well.

This is so sad.

 

[KatK]

Well, at the accident the airbag would still be puffed up ,right? Wouldn't it deflate over time, allowing them to see more in the car? :waitasec:

 

[Taximom]

I would think it would be pretty simple to lift the airbag up to see what was under it. What if there had been a child in the front seat?!

At least they won't be making the same mistake again, hopefully.

 

[calidreamin]

Hi TM:blowkiss: ! You would think they would have checked the car out better as part of their accident investivation before it was towed to the yard. I remember an accident here a while ago where a young mother was killed in a crash by two punks running from the police. There was a car seat in the car and they ripped the car apart franticaly looking for the baby. Luckily he was was home and not in the car but the mom couldn't tell police that because she was dead. It still shakes me up thinking about that.

 

[Taximom]

Hi Cali! :blowkiss:

I wonder if at any point the son asked about his mom.

Why would the employee have been asked to go look for anything "unusual"? What an odd term to use. Geez, can you imagine the shock of finding her?!

 

[tezi]

This is just so sad. I just don't see how they could overlook someone. But, it happens...Sadly, more than we know.

I know though, when my neighbors where killed in May, the sheriff was here (not my house, but in the neighborhood) asking about their baby since his car seat was in the car, but they couldn't find him at the scene. Luckily, he was with his grandma.

 

[Lurker]

Would the passenger airbag go off if no one was in the seat? I know the one in my car always say Airbag Off unless someone or something that weighs more than a certain amount is sitting there. Sometimes my purse full of pennies qualifies.

 

[White Rain]

wtf?

The body of an elderly woman was discovered Sunday in the front passenger side of a crumpled car in a San Fernando Valley towing company's yard -- a day after paramedics had removed her son from the same vehicle after a crash, authorities said.
The woman, whose identity was not released, had apparently been left in the car at the accident scene in Tarzana even as her son was taken to a hospital, police said.
Investigators began looking for her after family members reported that two relatives -- not one -- were missing, Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department said.
"We conducted a follow-up to the tow yard, and we discovered the woman inside the vehicle," Lopez said. "She was dead."
more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-body17dec17,0,3436543.story?coll=la-home-center

 

[nappy2]

Dear LE here is a list of what your supposed to do at a accident!:hand:

1. walk up to the car

2. stop drop and roll oh no thats if your on fire sorry!

3. look inside the car for and see if anybody needs help

4. most important get all deceased people out before leaving

 

[MeoW333]

Were the police at the scene that stupid to just go by what a seriously injured driver says when asked if anyone else in the car? or were they too lazy to check themselves. If someone is obviously injured, then their faculties aren't always there. Common sense would be to search thoroughly the car and area just in case.

"I'm confident that no one saw a body in there, but the question is why they didn't see it," said Deputy Chief Michel Moore, who is overseeing the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation of the incident."

More like why didn't they look hands on searching rather than just "see" the car.