A woman in her 50s died and three police officers were hospitalized after they were exposed to an unknown chemical substance emanating from her car in Palo Alto on Friday, May 5, a police spokesperson said.
A passerby called 911 and reported a woman was on the ground and in medical distress at the Shell gas station, located at 3601 El Camino Real, on Friday at 7:59 p.m., police Lt. Con Maloney said Monday, May 8. Arriving officers began emergency medical treatment and the woman was transported to a hospital by ambulance.
Her white Acura SUV contained several bottles of an unknown substance. A strong chemical odor emanated from the vehicle, Maloney said. Three police officers who were exposed to the strong chemical smell were also taken to the hospital.
"Our officers are all fine now and were released from the hospital later Friday evening. The woman unfortunately died at the hospital," Maloney said.
Police don't currently know the woman's city of residence. The case remains under investigation. Police haven't yet identified the chemical substance. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office identified the woman on May 22 as Erica McJimpsey, 51, who was without an address. A cause of death was still pending.
"Members of our department are working with experts to determine what the chemical substances are," he said.
Police don't consider the incident was a crime; it is possible the death was either a suicide or accidental. There is no indication the substance was an illegal street drug such as fentanyl, he said.
Palo Alto Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McNally said a hazardous materials team from Mountain View Fire Department cleared the incident and the SUV was towed away by police.
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Comments
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 9, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Registered user
on May 9, 2023 at 2:28 pm
It must be assumed that she drove to the Shell station. That makes this very worrying as whatever caused her distress, if she was driving at the time then she was putting all road users in jeopardy. Thankfully she was able to pull into the gas station, but if there was nowhere to pull in it just isn't worth thinking about.
Sorry to hear about her death, and it is good to hear that the police officers are unhurt. I think we were all lucky in this instance.