A 76-year-old woman remains in critical condition at a San Antonio hospital after being struck by a car during rush hour at West Del Mar Boulevard and Springfield Avenue in north Laredo Monday evening. She suffered a head injury, facial trauma, a broken arm and a fractured pelvis, and westbound lanes were shut down for roughly two hours as crews worked the scene.
According to KGNS, police say surveillance footage shows the woman was crossing outside of a marked crosswalk when a westbound vehicle hit her. Investigators with the Laredo Police Department are examining all contributing factors, including visibility, as they try to piece together exactly what happened at the intersection.
Paramedics rushed the woman to Doctors Hospital, where personnel prepared her to be airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio, the station's report on the crash notes. Reports on the timing of the collision have varied slightly — one account places it just before 7:30 p.m., while another says it happened around 7:30 p.m. — but all point to the same rush-hour window on West Del Mar Boulevard.
Driver Stayed, Cooperated, and Won't Face Charges
Police said the driver showed no signs of impairment, stopped immediately, called 911 and cooperated with officers at the scene. No criminal charges are pending against the driver, and per the same account, the LPD Crash Team is now investigating the cause of the crash. Police have not released the woman's name.
The roadway reopened to traffic around 9:40 p.m. after being closed for about two hours, the outlet's report states. That closure snarled a stretch of Del Mar Boulevard already known for its congestion — Jose Manuel Gonzalez Jr., who works at a shopping center near the intersection, said the intersection has heavy traffic, a detail that underscores just how disruptive the crash was for evening commuters.
Police Widen Their Warning to the Whole City
Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza said sundown can be blinding in those areas, warning that people risk being unseen when crossing certain areas of the city. Baeza said pedestrian safety is the key takeaway from the crash, and the warning is not limited to the Del Mar and Springfield corridor — police say it applies to the entire city of Laredo as pedestrian and bicycle traffic continues to rise across town.
The City of Laredo's Traffic Safety Division, which designs, installs and maintains traffic signals, signs, pavement markings, street lights and traffic-calming devices citywide, says its lighting infrastructure is designed to support roadway safety and pedestrian visibility, according to the City of Laredo. The department oversees more than 270 traffic signals and roughly 1.5 million linear feet of pavement markings across the city, and it conducts an annual citywide streetlight inspection alongside a completed LED streetlight retrofit with AEP Texas.
What State Law Requires of Drivers
Under the Texas Transportation Code, a driver must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian or sidewalk user to avoid a collision, according to the Texas Transportation Code. That statutory duty exists alongside the requirement for pedestrians to use marked crosswalks where available, a factor investigators are weighing as they examine visibility and other contributing conditions at Del Mar and Springfield.
For now, the woman's condition, the exact cause of the crash and any findings from the LPD Crash Team's investigation remain unresolved. Police have made clear that their message extends well beyond one intersection, urging drivers and pedestrians across Laredo to stay alert as both foot and bike traffic keep climbing throughout the city.
