Elderly man dies during parking lot accident at Irvine Spectrum

An elderly man died during a parking lot accident at the Irvine Spectrum Center on Thursday, police said.

It happened at around 3:30 p.m. at the parking structure exit at 100 Spectrum Center Drive, according to the Irvine Police Department. It was there that officers arrived and found an 88-year-old men who had gotten stuck between the partially open door and his car, a Mazda SUV.

"Based on witness statements and video obtained at the scene, the driver approached the security exit gate and stopped to pay," said IPD officers. "It appears the driver did not place his Mazda SUV in to the park gear because the vehicle began to move forward when the driver was outside the car."

They say that the door made contact with the parking equipment, which caused the door of his car to shut. 

"He became trapped between the door and the vehicle and could not free himself," police said. 

The man, who has been identified as Laguna Woods resident Robert Ray Bell, was declared dead after being taken to a nearby hospital by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters that arrived at the scene to attempt and save him. 

The incident remains under investigation by IPD's Major Accident Investigation Team.