Authorities say 56-year-old Judith Permar of Mount Carmel, Pa., died on Sunday after she got her arm caught in a clothing donation drop-off box.
Mount Carmel Police Chief Brian Hollenbush told Phillynews.com, "She was fishing bags out and the ladder she was standing on gave way, and she couldn't get her hand loose."
The news website reported, "She was apparently removing bags from the container, and she was left dangling with her feet off the ground."
Northumberland County Coroner James Kelley told news agencies that Permar died from a combination of trauma injuries she sustained in the accident and hypothermia.
It's believed that Permar, who was described as short, went to the drop-off box around 2 a.m. on Sunday and was discovered dead more than six hours later.
Police Chief Hollenbush adds in his interview with Phillynews.com:
Bags with clothes and shoes that had been pulled from the bin were on the ground. Permar's black Hummer was nearby with the engine still running. Hollenbush knew Permar, and described her as a very nice woman. "It wasn't something that I would expect to be seeing," he said when asked about items being removed from the donation bin. In November, police received a report of a woman who was driving a black Hummer removing items from the bin, he said.
The drop box is located along Route 54 in Natalie, which is a small village in Mount Carmel Township — about 60 miles northeast of the state capital Harrisburg.
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