A woman in her 50s was fatally trapped by her car door while trying to pay a parking fee in a Dongducheon car park, Tuesday. Captured from Naver Map

A woman in her 50s was killed after getting trapped by her car door while attempting to pay a parking fee in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province.

According to the Dongducheon Police on Wednesday, the accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. the day before in a parking lot in Tapdong-dong.

The victim, identified as A, had visited a nearby recreational facility with her child. Although an advance payment machine was available in the parking lot, Ms. A chose to pay upon exiting.

CCTV footage shows her stopping the vehicle about a meter from the payment machine and repositioning it closer.

However, as she leaned out of the open driver's door to reach the machine, the car, left in drive gear, began rolling forward. Police suspect that when Ms. A removed her foot from the brake, the vehicle moved toward the barrier, which was on a downhill slope, causing the car to roll more quickly. The driver's door then struck the barrier, closing on Ms. A and trapping her.

Ms. A was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately succumbed to her injuries. The police are conducting an investigation based on witness statements.

This incident mirrors a similar case in November last year when a man in his 70s was fatally pinned by his car door at a highway toll booth.

In that incident, the vehicle also rolled forward after he leaned out to pay, trapping him between the car and the toll's structure.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.