Chatsworth woman dies after being run over by her own truck

Thursday, July 10, 2014

photo Site of fatal accident in Dalton, Ga.

DALTON, Ga. - A bizarre accident at the end of a driveway in the heart of Dalton on Tuesday killed a 55-year-old Chatsworth woman who was in town for the day to see her mother-in-law and a friend.

Barbara Jean Eoff, 55, returned to the house she was visiting on Lance Street after running some errands and was preparing to return to Chatsworth.

It was just a few minutes before 8 p.m. when she started backing down the steep driveway in her 1999 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

But something went wrong. Eoff's husband told police that it was common for her to roll down the window and look out while driving in reverse. And somehow, this time, she fell out of the truck.

The truck rolled over her and continued down the driveway and into an adjacent grassy area around a corner from the home.

On Wednesday the homeowner stood on her porch and peered over the driveway, recalling her shock after hearing a crash and walking out to see her friend lying on the driveway, bleeding, with her vehicle nowhere in sight.

Eoff told her to "hurry," she said.

Emergency personnel arrived quickly, the friend said, but Eoff was pronounced dead at Hamilton Medical Center.

"She was just a loving person," said her friend, who asked not to be identified. "She was always wanting to help someone. She was a special lady."

And she was going to be a grandmother of twins in the fall, the friend said.

Dalton police said the investigation remains open.

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.