Hudson police broke into a vehicle to rescue an apparently frozen woman, only to find it was a mannequin, local media report.
A caller described as “upset” called police on December 16 to report a woman “frozen to death” in a parked car.
Hudson Police say they received a call saying an elderly woman was found “frozen to death” inside a car along City Hall Place, CBS affiliate WRGB reports.
When officers arrived, they discovered an elderly woman seated in the passenger seat wearing an oxygen mask. She was not moving and was unresponsive.
The vehicle owner is a sales manager for a company that manufactures medical training aides.
The realistic mannequin appears to be a CPR training device, that is extremely detailed to include actual clothing, glasses, teeth, shoes, skin blemishes, etc. The mannequin’s owner stated that he transports the device in his car in that manner, to include the wearing of a seat belt.
Police said the car was covered in snow, suggesting it had been left overnight in temperatures of about -13C.
They later tracked down the owner, who complained about the police action.
Police chief L Edward Moore said in a statement: “It is my understanding that the owner was incredulous that we took action in this matter.
“He apparently was quite vocal and vulgar to my sergeant.”
Chief L Edward Moore had this message for mannequin owners: “Just to clear the record, all citizens of Hudson should be put on notice that if you park your locked vehicle on the street on a sub-zero night with a life-size realistic mannequin seated in it… we will break your window.”
