From Dallas Express · Dallas Express · · 1m 20s
A wheelchair, a dark road, and a fatal crash in Dallas
A woman in her 50s was killed crossing a Cedar Crest street at 2 a.m., and police say darkness made her nearly invisible.
In brief
A woman in her 50s was killed crossing a Cedar Crest street at 2 a.m., and police say darkness made her nearly invisible. Crossing outside a crosswalk in the dark is the deadliest combination for pedestrians, and a motorized wheelchair sits too low for drivers to spot in time. Originally reported by Dallas Express.
Killed before dawn
A woman in her 50s using a motorized wheelchair was struck and killed early Monday while crossing a street in the Cedar Crest area of Dallas.
The 2 a.m. call
Dallas Fire-Rescue reached the 700 block of E. Ann Arbor Avenue around 2 a.m. and found her critically injured in the roadway. She died at a nearby hospital.
Name withheld for now
Police have not released her identity while they work to notify her family.
Struck outside the crosswalk
Investigators say she was crossing away from a designated crosswalk when a westbound pickup truck hit her.
The driver stayed
The pickup driver remained at the scene, called 911, and has been cooperating with the Dallas Police Department.
Darkness is the open question
The Vehicular Crimes Unit is pulling surveillance footage. Early findings point to pedestrian error, with police noting she was hard for drivers to see in the dark.
“Preliminary findings indicate pedestrian error may have contributed to the collision.”
The key point
Crossing outside a crosswalk in the dark is the deadliest combination for pedestrians, and a motorized wheelchair sits too low for drivers to spot in time.
