CEDAR LAKE | After a two-week investigation, the death of a local 43-year old woman in her driveway was determined to have been an accident.

Police Chief Roger Patz on Thursday released the department's findings on Sunday's death of Mary Ann Steuer, of 13941 Morse St. The Lake County coroner's office had earlier ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Patz said police think Steuer exited her vehicle in the driveway, but it was not in parking gear. The investigation indicates that the van began to roll backward and an open door struck Steuer, who fell and became wedged under the door. Skid marks in the gravel indicate that she may have then been dragged for some distance before the van stopped rolling.

Cedar Lake police responded to a 911 call by Steuer's young daughter, who said her mother was having difficulty breathing.

Officer Carl Brittingham and Cedar Lake firefighter James Schultz found Steuer pinned to the ground under the van's open side door. She was not breathing, and both men made efforts to resuscitate her. She was later transported to St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point, where she was pronounced dead.