PA Hospital Staffer, Mom Of 3, Crushed To Death By Steel Drum: Police

A hospital worker and mom of three was struck dead by construction equipment on Friday morning, police announced over the weekend.

Aleia Carmelita Lopez, 51 of Pittsburgh Northside was struck and injured in the head while walking with co-workers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Western Psychiatric Hospital on May 3, 2024, according to the police.

Pittsburgh Police and EMS were called to the "construction accident" with a report of a "female with a head injury near the Petersen Events Center" in the 3700 block of Terrace Street in Oakland at 10:40 a.m.

Medics found Aleia with "significant, grave injuries to her head," as stated in the release, and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:45 a.m.

Witnesses explained that it appeared the large steel cylindrical drum broke free from a nearby construction site, rolled down a hill, went through adjacent construction fencing, and struck Aleia who was on the sidewalk. After striking her, the drum "continued to roll across the street before finally coming to rest against a pick-up truck," according to the police.

Aleia was an executive assistant at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, according to a spokesperson for the hospital and her LinkedIn.

She is survived by her three children and her mom, who launched a GoFundMe to help her children.

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