An investigation is underway for a woman found dead in a Youngstown home, with her 4-year-old grandson wandering in the front yard. 

Ohio Edison worker Joe Vrona was making his route on Weston Avenue Thursday afternoon when he says the boy flagged him down from his front yard. 

"He just said hey Mr. my mommy and daddy are in jail, my grandma is passed out, and my uncle is over here and he has to go to work," said Vrona.

Thankfully for the little boy, Vrona isn't your typical Ohio Edison worker. He's a former police officer and his instincts immediately kicked in.

"It's not normal to see a 4-year-old wander around his house soliciting to a complete stranger for help, so at that point I knew something was wrong because I know my kids, if they had to do that, again, to go to a stranger, something would have to be really wrong," said Vrona

Vrona asked the boy where his grandma was and the boy pointed inside the house.

"So I went up to the porch, opened the screen door, took two steps in, seen a middle aged female slumped over on the couch, she had dark purplish on one side, looks like she's been there for awhile," said Vrona.

Police identified the woman as 65 year old Carolyn Depietro. According to the police report, she was found with several pill bottles under her body. 

Neighbors described Depietro as kind, loving and always there when you needed her. 

Vrona says he's just thankful he came across that house when he did.

"Just happy that me and the neighbor were there for the little boy and honestly that the EMT's and the police responded so quickly to actually find out the situation and kind of get the little boy where he needed to go and contact family," said Vrona.

CSB allowed a neighbor to take care of the boy, but neighbors now say he is in the care of another relative. The Mahoning County Coroner does not suspect foul play and they are waiting for toxicology results to determine a cause of death.