A 59-year-old woman was discovered dead inside her car Sunday in Bloomington’s Walmart parking lot. According to a news release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the woman lived in the truck, and a passerby and firefighter who attempted to help were bitten by dogs inside.
Investigators believe Rosemary Hawkins may have had a medical emergency around 8:20 a.m., when shop surveillance video footage showed her slow-moving vehicle colliding with a concrete light pole base in the Walmart parking lot on Ind. 45 just west of Bloomington.
Her death is under investigation by the Monroe County Coroner’s Office. Coroner Jeff Hall stated the official cause and manner of death are still pending autopsy and toxicology testing.
It took nearly four hours before someone contacted 911 at midday to report an unresponsive person inside a vehicle. “Numerous aggressive dogs were inside the vehicle, preventing access to the driver,” the press announcement stated.
“The deceased individual had been living out of the vehicle,” the release stated, and it was “regularly seen parked on the west side of the Walmart property.”
Monroe Fire Protection District emergency workers were the first to arrive, found Hawkins inside, and “observed approximately 8 dogs within the vehicle that were acting aggressively and preventing any approach to assess the person’s condition,” according to a news statement.
“To render aid, firefighters opened the door, which allowed several dogs to escape and begin aggressively charging at bystanders and emergency responders.”
Sheriff’s deputies arrived shortly after and set up a perimeter in the parking lot to round up and corral the dogs. One bystander and a firefighter were bitten and received minor injuries.
Five of the canines were apprehended by county animal control officials, and three more were discovered later in the day by municipal animal shelter workers. All were taken to the Bloomington Animal Shelter.
Police are unsure how many dogs were in the car, so animal control officers will patrol the area for the next few days, according to the news release.
Reference: Police investigating death in Walmart parking lot; numerous dogs at scene rounded up