A Pennsylvania woman froze to death after her arm got stuck in the door of a clothing donation bin early Sunday.
Judith Permar, 56, died after her arm was trapped while she was reportedly removing bags of clothing from a donation box near her home.
Her body was found dangling just inches above the ground with her left arm trapped in the bin.
Permar was standing on a step stool and reaching into the donation bin when the stool collapsed under her, according to the NY Daily News.
A coroner’s report revealed she died from hypothermia and trauma after being trapped for six hours. Her injuries included a broken arm and wrist, according to the coroner.
Investigators believe she took bags of clothing out of the donation drop-off box, located along Route 54 in Natalie, around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Her body was found after sunrise about six hours later. Her cause of death was ruled accidental.
According to Philly.com, bags with clothes and shoes that Permar reportedly pulled from the bin were on the ground nearby. Permar’s black Hummer SUV was parked nearby with the engine running.
“She was fishing bags out and the ladder she was standing on gave way, and she couldn’t get her hand loose,” said Mount Carmel Police Chief Brian Hollenbush.
Hollenbush said he knew Permar whom he described as a nice woman.
“It wasn’t something that I would expect to be seeing,” he said, referring to the bags of clothing found near her body.
In November, police received a report of a woman removing bags from the same donation bin while a black Hummer was parked nearby.
Permar leaves behind a husband, four children and four grandchildren. Her daughter, Angela Minnig, remembered her mother on Facebook.com.
“It was very sudden and our family will learn to cope with the loss of such an amazing Wife, Mother, Sister and Friend,” she wrote.
“She was such a fun loving person and we know it would mean the world to her to say ‘See you Again.'”
An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Permar died while donating clothing to the bin.
