A Mount Carmel woman who died after her arm got caught in the door of a clothing drop-off box was apparently removing bags from the container and was left dangling with her feet off the ground.
Judith Permar, 56, was standing on a step stool Sunday when it collapsed, breaking her arms and wrist and trapping her in the donation box.
“She was fishing bags out and the ladder she was standing on gave way and she couldn’t get her hand loose,” Mount Carmel Township Police Chief Brian Hollenbush said when contacted by phone.
Permar died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, according to the county coroner.
Permar reportedly went to the drop-off box in Natalie about 2 a.m. Sunday but was not found until 8:30 a.m. Monday. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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 said.
Hollenbush, who knew Permar, described her as a very nice woman.
“It wasn’t something that I would expect to be seeing,” he said when asked about the 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.
Condolences from friends were posted on Facebook after family members announced Permar’s death.
“On Sunday morning my Mother passed away,” Angela Minnig posted. “It was very sudden and our family will learn to cope with the loss of such an amazing Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend. We will be updating everyone on her viewing and wish all who knew her to visit and pay her respects. She was such a fun loving person and we know it would mean the world to her to say ‘See you Again.'”