Body Found in Tow Yard a Day After The Accident

Boy, somebody really dropped the ball on this one:

The body of an elderly woman was discovered Sunday in the front passenger side of a crumpled car in a San Fernando Valley towing company's yard -- a day after paramedics had removed her son from the same vehicle after a crash, authorities said.

The woman, whose identity was not released, had apparently been left in the car at the accident scene in Tarzana even as her son was taken to a hospital, police said.

Investigators began looking for her after family members reported that two relatives -- not one -- were missing, Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department said.

"We conducted a follow-up to the tow yard, and we discovered the woman inside the vehicle," Lopez said. "She was dead."

LAPD detectives and officials on Sunday afternoon and evening swarmed the vehicle lot at Howard Sommers Towing Inc., an official police impound and tow yard in Canoga Park, trying to determine how city paramedics and traffic officers had failed to spot the woman in the damaged vehicle.

The slightly built woman had been concealed beneath an air bag that had deployed during the accident, police said. The vehicle was badly banged-up after crashing into a building.

If only one person missed it you might understand, but there were several rescue workers on the scene not to mention the tow truck employees.

UPDATE - a similar story: EMS Mistakenly Declares Woman Dead at Crash Scene