Woman Found Unresponsive in Happy Valley Casino Parking Lot Died of Natural Causes, Police Say

A 78-year-old woman who was found unresponsive in the Happy Valley Casino parking lot early Thursday morning died of natural causes, State College police said on Tuesday.

Police and Centre LifeLink EMS responded at 3:18 a.m. to the recently-opened College Township venue’s lot and performed life-saving measures on the woman, who was sitting in a vehicle and had experienced “a life-threatening medical emergency,” police wrote in a statement.

“After substantial effort the female was subsequently pronounced dead, and the Centre County Coroner’s Office and State College Police detectives were called to the scene,” police wrote.

An investigation found the woman, identified as a Pennsylvania resident, had preexisting, diagnosed medical conditions that contributed to her death by natural causes, according to the statement. The police investigation is closed.

Happy Valley Casino did not immediately respond on Tuesday to questions about whether casino security or other personnel found the woman, and whether she had been a patron at the casino.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesperson Douglas Harbach said that in such an incident the board’s only role would be to document that it occurred.

“The incident that occurred is, of course, sad. However, it is not the PGCB on-site staff’s role to respond to medical incidents in the parking lot, and would not be in the best position to assist since EMS and local police are far better equipped to deal with the situation,” Harbach wrote in an email.