The woman, whose name was not released, was found dead about 8:30 a.m. Monday in a gold, snow-covered Cadillac at the fast-food restaurant in Hackensack. Watch video
HACKENSACK - A 78-year-old New York woman who told a Burger King employee that she didn't want to drive home in the snow was found dead in her parked car Monday morning, according to police.
The woman, whose name was not released, was found by restaurant employees about 8:30 a.m. in a gold, snow-covered Cadillac in the parking lot of the fast-food restaurant on Hackensack Avenue.
"She told an employee on Friday night that she was going to stay parked there because she's afraid to drive in the snow," said Hackensack Police Director Michael Mordaga.
A short time after the woman spoke with the employee, the Burger King closed.
Workers found the body on Monday.
Mordaga said the death is not believed to be due to carbon monoxide because the car's tailpipe was not obstructed and because the car was not running.
"It's possible (the death) could be related to the weather," the police director said.
A CBS news video posted to social media appears to show a police officer saying the battery is dead.
Police said the woman is from Medford, N.Y., a Long Island town about two hours away. Police did not release the woman's name because her family had not been notified.
An autopsy is planned, Mordaga said.
Two Burger King employees arriving to work Monday morning found the car covered in snow, according to police.
"That car had to have been there since Saturday," said Chuck Edmonson, 56, of North Arlington, who works at an automotive shop nearby.
If the woman's death is confirmed as weather-related, this would be the third possible storm-related death in New Jersey linked to the historic blizzard that dropped nearly three feet of snow on large swaths of the state.
Car battery is dead. Man frozen to death inside Cadillac in Burger King parking lot #Hackensack #NJ @cbsnewyork pic.twitter.com/zqeKvMlzqG
-- Meg Baker (@megbakertv) January 25, 2016
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.