Coroner’s Office Remains Quiet After Body Falls Into Roadway

UPDATE: Coroner’s Office To Step Up Inspections Of Vehicles After Body Falls Out

The Bucks County Coroner is remaining relatively quiet after a body strapped to a gurney fell out of the back of one of its office’s vehicles and ended up on busy Street Road.

County officials in Doylestown have directed reporters to contact coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell for comment. As of Monday evening, the coroner has not returned multiple phone calls and an email placed by LevittownNow.com. A staff member said Campbell was in the office on Monday.

According to an article from the Calkins Media newspapers, the coroner did offer some insight into what happened Friday afternoon in Lower Southampton to one of their reporters on Sunday. He explained the gurney fell into the roadway after a series of mishaps with the county-owned vehicle.

A witness to the incident told LevittownNow.com the transport vehicle was a green early 2000s model Chevrolet. The vehicle is one of at least two that the coroner’s office uses to transport deceased between their location and the office Campbell oversees in Ivyland.

Questions surrounding exactly how the gurney fell out of the vehicle linger in the days following the incident.

Jerry Bradley was waiting at the traffic light coming out of the shopping center that holds a Panera Bread and Starbucks when he saw the gurney come out of the county-owned vehicle and end up in the lane of travel.

“At first I thought someone was pulling a prank, but traffic was just driving around,” Bradley told LevittownNow.com Saturday morning.

Bradley said it appeared there was a body in a bag and wrapped in a sheet strapped to the gurney. A photo snapped by the man appears to show just that.

“I helped a woman from the coroner’s office get it out of the road, as it appeared to be broken a little,” Bradley said. He added the body was moved up Street Road to the Dunkin Donuts parking lot.

County spokesman Chris Edwards confirmed the first 9-1-1 call about the incident was made at 12:01 p.m.

A statement issued hours after LevittownNow.com first broke the story, which has since been reported on around the globe, said a “rear door mechanical malfunction had taken place during the transport of a deceased individual.” The statement further said: “The driver immediately knew that this malfunction occurred. The driver of the transport vehicle returned to make the transport complete, with the help of a bystander and in a matter of moments.”

The short statement said the office “deeply regrets this incident and will take steps to ensure that it is not repeated in the future.”

Coroners offices around the state use a variety of different vehicles to transport bodies.