Nurse Killed By Snow Plow In Hospital Parking Lot

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A nurse walking in a hospital parking lot was struck and killed by a snow plow on Wednesday.

The woman was walking in a parking lot at Good Shepherd Hospital, 450 Route 22 in Barrington, when she was hit around 5:30 a.m.

A red 2012 Ford F-450 truck with a snowplow attached was backing up when the driver struck a female pedestrian, the Lake County Sheriff said in a new release.

Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd has identified her as Diane Shogren of Ingleside.

Dr. Rudd says the driver of the truck, a 45-year-old man who is also an employee of Good Shepherd Hospital, is the one who found Shogren.

She was treated at the hospital but pronounced dead at 6:02 a.m.

"It is a very tragic event. The weather, has been horrendous this winter, and for something of this magnitude to happen is very, very sad, and our hearts go out to the family," said Sara Balmes of the Lake Co. Sheriff's Dept.

The truck's safety equipment, including flashing amber lights, reverse lights and backup alarm, were functioning at the time, police said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our associate's family and our Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital family," Good Shepherd said in a statement.

"We are working closely with our chaplains and social workers to offer spiritual and emotional support at this difficult time.

"One of our top priorities is to provide a safe environment for patients to heal and associates to work. To that end, we will continue to partner with all parties to investigate what occurred and to take all necessary steps to ensure it doesn't happen again."

The sheriff's office says there is no indication at this point that drugs or alcohol factored into this and no charges are pending.