Car wash employee killed after getting entrapped in equipment

WEAVERVILLE, N.C. — A woman was killed after she became entrapped in equipment at a car wash in Weaverville, North Carolina.

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Weaverville Police Department said Carolina Bree Franks, 26, was killed after she became entrapped in equipment at a car wash she was working at on Saturday, according to WLOS. Franks was pronounced dead at the scene.

It happened at a ZIPS Car Wash in Buncombe County around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 13, according to WTVD.

“She spent the night with me the night before, well, Thursday night,” Franks’ grandmother, Ernestine Franks, told WLOS. “She was on her way back home Saturday, and we got the call Saturday evening. I could not believe it. I was in shock.”

Ernestine Franks told the Ashville Citizen-Times, according to People Magazine, that she was not scheduled to work a shift at the car wash that day but had ended up filling in for another employee.

Police said that the North Carolina Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) was notified of the incident, according to WLOS. They will be leading the investigation.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our team member’s family in this time of loss. This is such an unfortunate tragedy. We are working with local authorities and the North Carolina Department of Labor OSHA throughout the investigation, and our Weaverville site will remain closed at this time,” Sarah Elizabeth, a spokeswoman for ZIPS Corporate said in a news release obtained by WTVD.

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