The Spokane mother who was hit in the parking lot of Costco on North Division earlier this month has officially been identified by the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office.
45-year-old Yelena Ivanov was hit by a car in the parking lot on August 16. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and passed away nine days later. The cause of Ivanov's death was listed as "Hypoxic encephalopathy due to mechanical compression of the chest with rib fractures."
Ivanov's child was also hit by the car, but did not sustain any life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the car has been cooperative with the investigation.
Days after the tragic accident, KHQ learned that a nurse who witnessed the events tried to help, only to be told no.
“As a nurse I walked over and said to two different employees ‘I’m a registered nurse, let me get in there and see if I can help this woman,’” said the medical nurse who did not want to be identified. “They said they needed to do crowd control and get people out of the way and the medics were on their way.”
The nurse said because it can take a few minutes for emergency crews to arrive, immediate care would have been the best intervention to get the woman help.
“It was frustrating,” said the nurse. “It is really upsetting and sad to hear that she has passed away.”
The nurse says she doesn’t know how much she would have been able to do, but wishes she had the opportunity, especially because she is trained in the medical field.
KHQ wrote a letter to Costco headquarters for a response. The company has not replied.
(story and photo: KHQ.com)