Woman Strangled When Her Clothes Became Tangled in an Escalator

Cumulonimbus · #1 ● 03-15-2012, 06:57 PM

What a shitty way to go:

An 88-year-old woman was strangled to death when her clothes got tangled in the treads of an escalator she was riding at the Long Island Rail Road station in Lindenhurst Tuesday, officials say.

"A preliminary investigation and autopsy concluded that the woman fell on the escalator, her clothing became entangled and she was asphyxiated," LIRR spokesman Sam Zabuto said in a statement.

The victim was identified as Irene Bernatzky of Lindenhurst, whom neighbors described as healthy and sprightly for her age. She often walked to the train station from her house and frequently visited her daughter, who lives in Manhattan.

That's where she was headed Tuesday afternoon when she fell on the escalator, according to neighbors.

"Every day, we'd see her walking up and down the block," said neighbor Gerri Hewitt, describing Bernatzky as a "friendly" and "lovely" woman who knew all the neighborhood children's names.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...142672925.html