LOS ANGELES — A woman sleeping under a pile of cardboard in the parking lot of a California grocery store died early Tuesday morning after a tractor-trailer drove over her makeshift shelter.
According to officials with the Los Angeles Police Department, the woman was sleeping in a Vons parking lot in the Echo Park neighborhood when the big rig, not affiliated with the supermarket chain, ran over her at around 1 a.m., KTTV reported.
The woman, who is believed to be unhoused and in her 30s, has not been identified publicly.
Police confirmed to KTLA-TV that the driver had entered the parking lot to make a U-turn when the incident occurred.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey told the Los Angeles Times that a passerby saw the woman’s body and, believing her already dead, called authorities. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by fire paramedics, he confirmed.
Police told KTTV that drugs and/or alcohol are not considered factors in the crash. The LAPD also confirmed that the truck driver, who could tell he was dragging something behind the big rig but had no idea he had struck a person, is cooperating with the investigation.
No other injuries were reported in the incident, Humphrey told the Times.
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