Car Wash Employee Killed After Getting Caught In Equipment

A 26-year-old woman from North Carolina was killed over the weekend after she got stuck in a car wash. Carolina Bree Franks was working at Zips Car Wash in Weaverville when she got tangled up in the equipment inside the car wash.

By the time paramedics arrived, Franks was already dead.

Carolina's grandmother, Ernestine Franks, told WLOS that she learned about what happened from Michael King, her boyfriend's father.

"This is what they told him - that she went to work. She was working at the car wash, cleaning, and she got tangled up in a piece of equipment," Franks explained. "And, when they found her, she was already dead."

Franks said that she raised Carolina since she was six and had just seen her a few days before the tragic accident.

"She was special," Franks said. "She loved everybody. She loved animals. She just is a nice young lady."

The North Carolina Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health is leading the investigation into Carolina's death.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with our team member's family in this time of loss. This is such an unfortunate tragedy. We are working with local authorities and the North Carolina Department of Labor OSHA throughout the investigation, and our Weaverville site will remain closed at this time," Sarah Elizabeth, a spokeswoman for ZIPS Corporate, said in a statement.