The Bucks County Coroner said Tuesday night that his office will work to make sure a body never falls out of one of their vehicles ever again.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
“Never in my life did I think I’d be talking about this,” Dr. Joseph Campbell said.
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The coroner said the 2002 Chevrolet that suffered a mishap last Friday around noon on Street Road in Lower Southampton has been taken out of service. Campbell said an investigation has shown an anchor system used to hold the gurney failed, caused the loaded gurney to fly and break the hatch door. From there, the gurney went off a ramp and into traffic.
Campbell told LevittownNow.com the vehicle’s age and condition lead to the failure. He added the truck was set to be replaced by a new van in the coming weeks.
“The new van is being outfitted right now. I’ve asked if the county could expedite that,” he said.
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Campbell said the office will now conduct monthly inspections of their vehicles and how they are functioning. The interoffice inspections will be in addition to regular maintenance inspections and work by the county garage.
The Chevrolet that failed is one of two vehicles the coroner’s office uses to transport the deceased between their location and the office Campbell oversees in Ivyland. Now, the office has one vehicle on the road, a 2009 green Ford. Campbell said having only one vehicle available could cause some logistical problems in the coming weeks.
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“Sometimes we’ll be down in Croydon and have a case up in Richland,” he said. “They’re at least an hour apart, and you don’t know how much time you need to spend at the scene.”
The corner said his staff member acted appropriately after the body fell out of the vehicle. The deputy coroner notified the office minutes after mishap and was able to retrieve the fully covered body with the help of bystander Jerry Bradley.
“I’ve got some good folks working for me, and they do everything by the book,” Campbell said.
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The family of the woman on the gurney at the time was notified of the incident very shortly after. The woman’s body was undamaged in the incident, Campbell said.
“We’re going to make sure this never happens again,” Campbell said.
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