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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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