A dead body on a gurney fell out of a coroner's van when a door malfunctioned, sending the corpse into the middle of a busy roadway in Pennsylvania.

The Bucks County Courier Times reported the accident happened around noon on Friday near a shopping center in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.

A photo on the newspaper's website shows the corpse, wrapped in what appears to be a white sheet, lying in the street as cars pass by. The Bucks County coroner's office said the driver realized immediately that the door had opened and retrieved the body within minutes. The office says it "deeply regrets" the incident.

A passerby who helped get the body into the van said he thought it was a prank, calling it "the most bizarre thing" he'd ever seen.