NEW YORK, March 12 (UPI) -- A 51-year-old woman suffocated to death while trying to climb out of a clothing donation bin New York City, officials said.
Melissa Mazzeo climbed into the bin on Staten Island around 12:45 p.m. Saturday and began going through the clothing, the New York Daily News reported.
"She was trying to climb back out when her head got lodged and she ultimately asphyxiated herself," police said.
A passerby saw Mazzeo's head sticking out of the bin around 1 p.m. and called 911, police said.
Mazzeo died at the scene, police said.
The medical examiner ruled the death an accident from asphyxia due to neck compression, a spokeswoman said.
"RIP mom. I wish I could [have] been with you more. Your in a better place now," wrote Mazzeo's son, Jake Fumagalli, on his Facebook page Saturday.
Fumagalli, 16, lives with his father in Brooklyn.
