Police release name of Ogden resident killed in carport collapse

OGDEN — Police have released the name of a woman killed when her snow-covered carport collapsed on top of her.

Susanne W. Christiansen, 60, was crushed when the weight of snow Monday collapsed her carport and patio at her home on the 700 block of Robins Avenue.

Neighbors on the 700 block of Robins Avenue reported hearing a loud noise around 11:30 a.m., said Ogden deputy fire chief Chad Tucker, but emergency responders were not called out until a Postal worker noticed the collapse about an hour later.

Neighbors rescued a dog chained to the carport, a lean-to structure with an asphalt shingle roof, Tucker said.

"We couldn't find any traces" of someone under the collapsed carport, he said. "They couldn't see anybody in the voids."

Firefighters and members of the Ogden and Weber Urban Search and Rescue teams searched the home and contacted family and friends of the home's two occupants. Only one occupant was located. Searchers then cut an access hole in the carport and found the trapped resident.

Christiansen was taken to an Ogden hospital and later died, Tucker said.

A weekend storm left more than 16 inches of new snow in the Ogden area.