Nurse Killed by Snow Plow in Suburban Hospital Parking Lot

“It was snowing heavily and there was limited visibility at the time of the incident," according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office

A nurse walking in the parking lot of a northwest suburban hospital was fatally struck by a snow plow Wednesday, police said.

A red 2012 Ford F-450 truck with a snowplow attached was backing up in a parking lot around 5:30 a.m. at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington when the driver struck the woman.

“It was snowing heavily and there was limited visibility at the time of the incident,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. “The safety equipment to include the amber lights, reverse lights, and back-up alarm on the Ford were functioning following the incident.”

Diane Shogren, 51, who worked for Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Lake County Coroner's office. The driver of the Ford is also an employee of the hospital, 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 incident remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit. Shogren was a married mother of adult children.

The hospital is providing counseling for her family, her coworkers and the plow driver.

Hospital officials say safety procedures will be reviewed.

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