Tragedy struck the West Valley area of Phoenix with two pedestrians losing their lives in separate crashes overnight. The incidents occurred late Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, prompting investigations into the circumstances surrounding these fatalities.
The first accident happened near 51st Avenue and McDowell Road at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Thursday; emergency responders arrived to find a woman fatally struck by a vehicle, she tragically died at the scene, Phoenix police indicated the driver who hit the woman was not under the influence according to AZFamily. Detectives believe the victim was walking midblock when the westbound car collided with her, and the driver remained on scene to cooperate with the officers.
Several hours later, around 3 a.m. Friday, another pedestrian incident occurred near 35th Avenue and Baseline Road involving 21-year-old Jaylynn James. Initially misidentified as a male by police, James was also struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing Baseline Road, but in her case, it was determined that she was outside of all marked crosswalks at the time of the accident, ABC15 reported.
These fatal incidents have heightened the already pressing concerns about pedestrian safety in the area, Phoenix police have yet to release the name of the woman killed in the first crash and they affirm that in both incidents, neither driver showed signs of impairment, investigations are ongoing to determine the full circumstances of each crash.
