Newspaper carrier gets foot pinned under van, taken to hospital

A newspaper carrier had her foot pinned underneath a minivan when it rolled backward onto her early Wednesday, police said.

Diana Sills, 58, a carrier for The Gazette, was delivering papers around 5:20 a.m. in the 5100 block of Lucore Road when it happened. Police Lt. Doug Slagle said Sills stopped the van she had been driving to make a delivery. The van apparently wasn't in park when she got out, and it rolled back onto her, he said.

A Gazette district manager said a back tire rolled onto her foot and ankle, causing a serious but non-life threatening leg injury. Slagle said dispatch records show she was pinned for at least three minutes.

“She was in some discomfort for a while,” Slagle said.

Sills was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. Her official medical condition was not immediately available.