Woman Dies After Getting Stuck in Clothing Donation Bin

Judith Permar had a broken arm and hypothermia
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2017 7:09 PM CST
Woman Dies After Getting Arm Caught in Clothing Donation Bin
Stock image   (Getty Images/lucentius)

A Pennsylvania woman died Sunday after getting her arm caught in a clothing donation bin, PennLive reports. Judith Permar, 56, is believed to have arrived at the clothing drop-off box around 2am and stood on a stepstool to reach her arm inside. According to Philly.com, police say she was pulling bags out of the bin when her stool collapsed and her arm got stuck inside with her feet dangling off the ground. Permar's body was found around 8:30am with her black Hummer still running nearby. She died from blunt force trauma—she had a broken arm and wrist—and had hypothermia. Her death was ruled an accident, WNEP reports.

"She was fishing bags out and the ladder she was standing on gave way, and she couldn't get her hand loose," says Mount Carmel Police Chief Brian Hollenbush. He adds that he knew Permar and wouldn't expect her to be stealing clothes from a donation bin. However, bags from inside the bin were found on the ground, and police received a report of a woman in a black Hummer taking clothes from the same drop-off box back in November. Her son, meanwhile, says his mother donated to such clothing bins frequently. In a message to family and friends, Permar's daughter remembered her as a "fun-loving person." (Bumble Bee pleaded guilty in a worker's death inside a giant oven.)

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