Ostego woman dies four days after being crushed at Indiana tollbooth

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A Michigan woman who was crushed by her own vehicle at a tollbooth along the Indiana Toll Road has died from her injuries.

State Police say 40-year-old Luciana Ortiz of Otsego, Michigan, died Wednesday, four days after she was injured after dropping her debit card while trying to pay at a tollbooth in Hammond near the Indiana-Illinois state line.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that police say that when Ortiz opened her door to pick up the card on Dec. 8, her sport-utility vehicle lurched forward as she stuck a leg outside the SUV. Her vehicle continued moving, slowly wedging Ortiz against a tollgate until she lost consciousness.

A state trooper eventually rescued Ortiz and she was airlifted to a suburban Chicago hospital.

An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday on Ortiz.


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