A 70-year-old woman has died after her husband accidentally ran her over in a church car park in a tragedy that has rocked the religious community. The woman, who is believed to have been a Bible study group leader, had just been dropped off when the accident occurred.
Her husband, also aged 70, was driving the car and was not said to be injured in the tragic accident, which was also witnessed by another member of the congregation of Castle Hill Baptist Church, in Sydney, Australia, 7News reports.
An ambulance was called to the car park at around 9.30am local time on Monday morning (which is 10.30pm Sunday night UK time) but she could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband was then taken to nearby Westmead Hospital for mandatory testing.
No-one has been arrested at this time. The victim of the tragedy has not yet been named but the church’s leader offered a heartfelt tribute.
Pastor Ian Deane told reporters at the scene that this was an “extremely tragic” accident.
He said: “She’s been an active member of the church and the person who witnessed it is also an active member of the church, it’s just tragic… just incredibly sad.”
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Officers from the Hills Police Area Command cordoned off the area and have started an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident with a crime scene established.
A report is being prepared for the coroner to investigate the cause of death.
Pictures from the scene show the white car surrounded by police with a white sheet draped over the right hand side.
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney in New South Wales. The busy church hosts two services on Sunday at 9.30am and 5pm and works in the community through Bible study groups during the week.
