California
Homeless woman killed by lawnmower tractor while she was sleeping – relatives raise serious allegations
The woman was hit by a lawnmower tractor and died instantly (symbol image)
© Martin Wagner / Imago Images
It was a terrible accident: a homeless woman was sleeping in the tall grass in a park. She was hit by a lawn mower tractor.
Christine Chavez has been living on the streets for several years, last week she slept in a park in Modesto, California. There she lay down in the tall grass – and died horribly, according to the local portal “The Modesto Bee”.
Chavez was run over by a lawn mower tractor around noon, her body caught by the blades and torn to shreds. The employee of a landscaping company who was supposed to mow the lawn at that point had apparently not noticed her. According to the police, he saw them woman only after the bad incident. Chavez was dead on the spot. The American, mother of a daughter, was only 27 years old. According to the current status of the investigation, it was an accident.
Police are said to have acted negligently at the scene of the accident
The driver alerted the police, who inspected the scene of the accident and temporarily closed it off. After that, the spot in the park was released again – but apparently too early. At least the relatives of the dead raise serious allegations against the police. When the parents visited their daughter’s place of death, they found body parts and scraps of clothing in the grass, which the police apparently did not remove, the family reports on the online donation platform “GoFundMe”. Attached is an explicit photo.
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On the platform, the relatives collect donations for a funeral service. “It’s the worst way to die,” explained Christine Chavez’s sister. “She has done nothing wrong.” Her brother criticizes the local police: “We want the regulations to change so that something like this doesn’t happen again. Regardless of whether they are homeless, they are still human beings and should be treated like all other human beings.”
The park belonged to a winery, which, however, stated that it had only bought the property the day before the accident. A landscaping company was hired to take care of it. The driver only noticed the woman when it was already too late. He was traumatized and received psychological support.
Sources: GoFundMe / “The Modesto Bee” / “New York Post”
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