Woman Found Dead in Car as Authorities Investigate Chemical Odor: DA

UPDATE: Dead Woman in Car, Suspicious Odor Identified: Police

Authorities were trying to determine the source of an apparent chemical odor coming from inside a white minivan in a New Jersey parking lot where a woman's body was found, officials say.

Emergency responders were called to a Wawa parking lot on Spring Street in Elizabeth at around 4 p.m. Monday and found a woman inside a vehicle with the doors and windows closed, police said.

The EMTs were able to get into the vehicle but were immediately overpowered by some sort of chemical smell, police said. Once they determined the woman was dead, the workers backed away and alerted firefighters and hazmat crews.

Hazardous materials crews were trying to figure out the nature of the odor and to make the scene safe for investigators. The car and the lot were cordoned off Monday while authorities investigated.

The woman has not been identified, and a medical examiner will determine how she died, police said.

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