MONEE, Ill. --
A 50-year-old woman was fatally struck by a vehicle Monday night in the parking lot of the Amazon Fulfillment Center where she worked in south suburban Monee.
Karla Kay Arnold (Wyatt) was walking toward the main entrance of the facility in the 6600 block of West Monee-Manhattan Road at 6:20 p.m. when she walked into an intersection and was struck by a vehicle, according to Monee police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
She was trapped under the vehicle, which had to be lifted off of her.
Arnold, a Kankakee resident, was taken to Franciscan St. James Health in Olympia Fields, where she died at 7:02 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office. An autopsy Tuesday found she died of multiple injuries from being struck by an SUV, and her death was ruled an accident.
Both the driver and the victim were Amazon employees reporting to work, police said, calling the crash a "tragic accident."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones during this very difficult time," Amazon spokeswoman Shevaun Brown wrote in an email. "Unfortunately this was a very sad traffic incident in our parking lot. The safety of our associates remains our top priority."
The driver is cooperating with investigators, police said. The Will County Sheriff Office's reconstruction unit is assisting with the investigation.
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Amazon employee killed after being hit by vehicle in Monee parking lot
Susan DeMar Lafferty Daily Southtown
A Kankakee woman died after she was hit by a sports utility vehicle Monday night in Amazon Fulfillment Center's parking lot in Monee, officials said.
Karla K. Arnold, 50, (Karla Kay Wyatt) was pronounced dead at 7:02 p.m. at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields after suffering multiple injuries, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
First responders found Arnold trapped underneath a vehicle about 6:20 p.m. near the main entrance at 6600 W. Monee-Manhattan Road. They lifted the vehicle off her and transported her to St. James Hospital, officials said.
Monee Police Chief Scott Koerner said the driver was looking for a place to park while Arnold was walking toward the entrance and the two did not see each other. The driver was not speeding, he said. Both Arnold and the driver were Amazon employees who were reporting for work, officials said.
Koerner said the investigation is continuing, but he believes it was a "tragic accident."
Police said the driver has cooperated with investigators.
The Will County Sheriff's Department accident reconstruction unit is assisting with the investigation.
Since the incident happened on private property and not village streets, information from the investigation will be turned over to the state's attorney's office to determine if charges are warranted, Koerner said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones during this very difficult time," Amazon said in a statement through its regional operations public relations manager Shevaun Brown. "Unfortunately this was a very sad traffic incident in our parking lot. The safety of our associates remains our top priority."
Last month, Monee Police warned residents on its Facebook page of heavy traffic exiting Amazon between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m., and urged them to find alternate routes to Interstate 57, such as Stuenkel Road.
"Obviously a facility this large is going to impact our community in a vast variety of ways. One of the biggest learning curves for us is dealing with traffic congestion. We are working closely with Amazon, Monee Public Works, as well as Will County Highway and IDOT to make this transition as smooth as possible," the Facebook post stated.