New Port Richey woman dies after being run down by her own van

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The medical call initially came in as “shortness of breath,” but New Port Richey police discovered it was much worse.

“But come to find out Ms. Klecan was struck by her vehicle, I guess she had a hard time getting it into park,” said Lt. Michael Anderson.

70 year-old Georgeann Klecan’s van began rolling backward out of her driveway, as she was knocked to the ground by her door.

“I guess she was trying to stop the vehicle and fell down by the vehicle hitting her and the car eventually ran over her, eventually,” he said.

Neighbor Debbie Cornelius was taking a shower at the time. She says she didn’t hear anything but saw lights from first responders through her front window.

“I saw the red lights from my patio and I came out to see what was going on,” she said.

She saw Klecan laying near the road.

“Everybody was just laying around her, and the paramedics picked her up and put her in the ambulance,” Cornelius said. “She was conscious, she was. It looked like she might have gotten up on her own. But with the assistance of the paramedics.”

Good Samaritans who heard the accident ran out to help Klecan, who was complaining about having trouble breathing.

Klecan was transported to North Bay Hospital, where she passed away hours later.

Lt. Anderson says while the incident is shocking, these types of accidents do happen.

“It’s typically sometimes due to not getting that vehicle in park. An elderly person would struggle with that. Sometimes they don’t have the strength to handle that, and it appears that’s exactly what happened,” he said.

New Port Richey police say the investigation is ongoing, but it does not appear to be suspicious.